Rage
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: Tenno are mortal. Tenno have many of the same failings that humans do. What happens when a Tenno loses everything he knew or loved? Bad things. This one is darker. I own none of the rights to Warframe. This is a fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

**When Anger goes Cold**

There was very little pain. It was more the shock of the impact than any pain that threw him down. He struggled to sit up, his Kraken pistol in hand blaring defiance, spewing bullets at the enemies that had overwhelmed his small team. The enemies that even now closed in, screaming their unintelligible battle cries.

All three of the others had fallen and would not rise. Aeron had seen Fran go down, a huge hole through the crest of her Saryn warframe. A Corpus sniper, far out of reach of her toxins, had taken advantage when a MOA had managed to drop her shields. When the others had tried to help her, since even such a terrible wound wasn't instantly fatal for a Tenno in a warframe, the Corpus had closed in.

Matt, their leader, had gone down to a shock prod despite his heavy armor. Ordinarily, a Frost would have been able to cover the team with a Snow Globe while they helped their sister, and the threat of the Corpus guns would have been laughable. But the running battle since being discovered while stealing the Orokin artifact from the holding facility it had been secured in aboard the Corpus ship had taken it's toll on all of them. None of them had a lot of power. Matt hadn't had the power to protect them. And it had cost them all when the Corpus had downed Fran.

No one had wanted to leave her to the nonexistent mercy of the religious nutcases. Joe had done his best, whirling and slicing, dashing when his Excalibur frame had recharged enough. But the enemies had been endless. When Matt went down, Joe had yelled for Aeron to run. But Aeron wasn't about to leave his brothers either. Then Joe had gone down, a steaming hole through his warframe and it had been Aeron's turn.

Aeron had tried. He was no coward and anger had burned in his veins. Now, something else did. He felt power come from somewhere and suddenly he was on his feet again, somehow. He jumped up and threw his arms wide. The Corpus goons screamed, but it was too late, and they were too close. His Overload fried every electrical device within range, including the Corpus robots. Each small explosion of electrical power fed the overload and Aeron's anger. No. This wasn't anger. This was something else. Anger was hot. This was cold. He... was cold.

"_Die, you bastards!_" Aeron screamed as power flared from him in unstoppable waves. Then everything went silent as the power he had been putting out stopped. He collapsed to his knees, his Volt warframe taking the impact easily. Aeron was panting as he slowly raised his head to look around.

All around the Volt, scattered in an almost perfect circle, still forms cooled. Robotic forms sizzled with residual energy and the organic one twitched. Aeron shook his head and went to his fallen kin. Fran was dead. Joe likewise. When the Volt went to his knees beside the Frost however, the battered ice using warframe twitched. Aeron scanned and found faint life!

"Matt!" Aeron said sharply. "Can you hear me?" He said urgently. He grabbed the other warframe's hand and then went still as a jolt of power surged into his own. A familiar power. Matt had put the artifact they had recovered into Aeron's warframe. "Come on, Matt." Aeron begged. "We have got to get out of here." The hand gave his a squeeze and then... fell slack. "No." Aeron said, his tone stunned. "No..." He begged. But the Frost didn't move. Indeed, the other Tenno's life signs faded.

_I... I can't leave them..._ Aeron said to himself numbly. _They are the only kin I have left...had left..._ His head shook from side to side and he laid a hand on the still Frost. Then he froze as the lights flickered.

_Aeron, you cannot run from your past..._

Any other day, those words would have chilled the Volt. Not today. The warframe rose from his kneeling position and then, bent down and laid a hand on the still warframe of his brother. Energy pulsed and the fallen Tenno vanished, the energy still contained in the Frost warframe seeping into Aeron's outstretched hand. He did the same to the torn and battered Excalibur before Stalker taunted him again.

_There is no salvation for your crime against Ambulas._

Aeron ignored the taunts, moving to where the Saryn frame lay. He ignored the mess, laying his hand against the fallen Tenno's cheek, and then drew the pitiful remnants of her warframe's power into his warframe. Her body vanished as well.

"I am sorry, Fran." Aeron said, tears starting to fall inside his helmet. "I wasn't good enough. I wasn't strong enough. But I will be." He promised, the tears fading as another emotion replaced the sadness. The new one. A white hot, yet cold thing inside his heart and soul. No tears now. Nothing but white. "I will be."

_You will not leave this place!_ Stalker declared as the black mist that heralded his arrival appeared nearby. Stalker appeared, and moved to attack, but paused as Aeron didn't move.

Aeron heard a voice. "One chance, whoever you are. _What_ever you are." It seemed to be coming from him, but it wasn't his. Or... It was. But... Not. "Run away. Now." The Stalker's bow drew to full extension and Aeron felt a huge calm descend over him. "So be it." He said quietly. Stalker fired, but Aeron wasn't where he had been. Indeed, Aeron was charging at enhanced speed.

Apparent disbelief had the Stalker freezing in place as the Volt closed the distance between them in a few heartbeats. The Volt didn't throw power, no. His Amphis was in hand. It had been a gift from Fran, that staff. Before Stalker could sling his bow and ready his own melee weapon, Aeron was on him.

"You!" The Volt swung and Stalker dodged, but got caught in the electrical area of effect and his shields flared. The red armored form's red scythe went flying. "Do!" Aeron recovered from his stroke and fast as lightning, slammed the end of the staff into the apparently dazed Stalker. "Not!" Stalker trioed to roll away, but Aeron was not to be stopped. "_Scare!_" Aeron screamed in rage and pain as he hit the red armored form again and again. Finally the red armored form fell, the body language of the ambusher shocked. "_**Me!**_" The Volt battered the now still form, pummeling the hapless assassin every time the enemy tried to defend himself or even move. "_**Die!**_" Aeron screamed the final word as he swung the staff two handed and connected with the other's head. A wet crunch sounded and then the stalker lay still, the ghastly ruin of his head showing he would not rise again.

_What... What have you done?_ The voice in Aeron's head was dazed.

"Just shut up and fade out already, you piece of trash!" Aeron snapped. The body vanished, but... The scythe did not. Aeron shook his head, his rage fading slightly. He slung the Amphis and stepped to where the scythe lay gleaming. He picked it up and examined it. A word was inscribed either side of the main blade. 'Hate'

"Works for me." Aeron said with a snarl as he started off for the airlock where his tiny clan's ship waited, the scythe in hand. "Come back anytime, you lousy excuse for an assassin." Aeron jeered into the stillness. Stalker would be back, killing him never worked to stop him for long. But Aeron hoped it would be soon so he could hurt the scum again. Part of Aeron recoiled. He wasn't loud. He wasn't vicious. Was he?

A shout from ahead brought Aeron's attention back to the here and now. A Corpus crewman stood at across corridor nearby, his laser rifle coming up. Then he screamed as Aeron leveled his arm and hit him with a powerful jolt of electricity. The scream lasted just long enough for Aeron to take three steps forward and swing the scythe. The brainwashed human did not even have the chance to scream again as the sharp edge of the weapon but deep, slicing through the heavy armor plated helmet as if it were made of tissue paper.

"You have cool toys, Stalker." Aeron barely recognized his voice. It was so... dead. "Feel free to come back and see me anytime."

Aeron did not draw his Braton as he walked, despite the growing numbers of Corpus that charged him. He could feel energy surging through him, from the scythe. It had some kind of energy recharge system attached. It felt...good. His right hand held the scythe. His left hand was raised, every time a Corpus troop or robot showed itself, he hit it with electricity. Sometimes that was enough to drop the target. Sometimes he stepped forward and swung, his rage finding temporary release in the blood and gore that flew from the insanely sharp blades of the scythe. Killing them felt...good.

Before he knew it, Aeron was back at the airlock. He paused at the hatch.

_There are more of them on this ship..._ The Volt thought to himself. He felt... The white was still there. The rage was still there. It felt so good to kill the scum. To murder the Corpus who had killed his sister and brothers. To end their lousy, good for nothing, useless existences. Then he shook his head savagely.

"No..." Aeron said in a dazed voice. "No... They trusted me. Matt..." He gave a soft sob. "Matt trusted me to complete the mission." He shook himself hard and stepped to the warframe sized alcove that led to his ship.

_You have done well, Tenno _The voice of the Lotus came. _You will be rewarded. _Then it was gone.

_It won't bring my kin back. _Aeron said with a snap. He paused. That was wrong. Talking back to the Lotus? What was _wrong_ with him? He shook his head as the ship took off, letting the automated systems pull him into the middle of the thing that had been his and his clan's home for a long, long time. He stepped to his usual spot and stopped short.

The ship was small, but it had been all that the four Tenno needed. They had each other and that was all, but again, they hadn't needed much more. Aeron's warframe sensors lingered over the weapons, the few trophies that they had taken over the centuries. Then they lit on the empty spaces and he...shut down. He wasn't crying. Indeed, while his warframe was shaking a little, it was not grief that caused it. It was rage.

The ship's AI queried Aeron, and he did not respond. It scanned him and froze in electronic shock. Aeron was wounded, badly. He hadn't even noticed how many times he had been shot. But he wasn't moving to the medical center! If he did not get to the medical center, the AI couldn't help him! It spoke aloud.

"Tenno Aeron, you are wounded." It said quietly. "Please move to the medical center." He ignored it.

The AI had a quandary now. It was supposed to obey the orders of Tenno, but Aeron wasn't _giving_ any orders. The wounds were serious, if not immediately life threatening.

"Tenno." The Ai tried again. "You are wounded. Please move to the medical center to receive aid." Aeron might have been a statue for all the response he gave.

Essentially, the ship AI was a simple thing. It existed for one purpose and one purpose only. It existed to get Tenno to their targets and retrieve them after their missions were done. But it also was meant to provide support for Tenno, medical support in particular. Tenno were mortal despite their gear, as had just been demonstrated. The AI's most basic imperative was to aid it's assigned Tenno of which Aeron was the sole remaining. It tried one more time.

"Tenno Aeron, you are injured." The AI sent the message both verbally and over the neural link that Aeron had to the ship. "You require aid." Instead of responding, Aeron shut down the link.

If the AI had been human, it likely would have sighed or sworn in exasperation. As it was not human, it searched it's databanks for orders in such situations. Aeron was injured. Without medical aid, he would die. He was not responding. He was conscious, but not responding. This made his problem something psychological. Something that was well beyond the AI's ability to help. Aeron needed assistance, and the AI could not provide it, so...

The AI sent out a short very weak omni-directional pulse of energy. Any Corpus or Grineer sensors would read it as minor momentary increase in cosmic radiation. Any other human sensors likely wouldn't pick it up at all. It wasn't directed at any of _them_. It was a call for help.

Tenno very rarely called for help. They were self sufficient. The warfames were self contained and self sustaining. But, nothing was perfect. So Tenno had support facilities in various hidden places. A shipyard to build the tiny spacecraft that ferried Tenno from their missions. A few extremely well hidden colonies where Tenno who did not wear warframes lived, worked, loved and eventually passed on. These colonies provided many kinds of support, including medical personnel for the odd problems that the Tenno themselves or the ships' AIs could not handle. Like this.

Since Tenno distress calls were so rare, when it did happen, the responses were nearly instantaneous. Not all Tenno were selfless paragons of virtue, but all knew that their own lives someday might require such a response, so very, very few stinted. Like ancient highway drivers clearing the way for an ambulance despite their impatience and consternation at the delay. Five Tenno ships were in easy com range and replied immediately. Each of them queried their Tenno but none of them had a good solution.

Finally one of the ships approached the one Aeron was one. It matched courses and speeds. Their airlocks mated and a Tenno in a Vauban warframe entered to scrutinize Aeron. The male Tenno sighed and spoke to the AI.

"If we try to force him into the medical bay, we will hurt him further. Let me try to guide him. He does need help." The Vauban took the Volt's limp arm and gave a pull. "Aeron..." The male Tenno said gently. "Aeron, can you hear me?" There was no response. "Dang it." The newcomer Tenno swore softly. "Come on, Aeron. You need help. Come on..." He encouraged, pulling the stupefied Volt towards the medical alcove. Then he jerked back as the Volt suddenly surged with power. "_Aeron!_" He shouted as electricity snapped from the Volt's fingers.

The current died as the ship's AI, acting under another long disused protocol, deactivate Aeron's warframe, the simple expedient knocking him all the way out. The Vauban caught the Volt as Aeron crumpled and hefted him easily, lifting him and carrying him to the waiting medical center. Once Aeron was ensconced within, the Vauban stood back and sighed, knowing his words would go to all the now listening Tenno.

"That wasn't Aeron." The male Tenno said slowly. "There were no conscious thought patterns detected on any of his warframe systems. He is either asleep... or worse. We can't handle this. We need to get him to better psychological help. I will take him home, ride with him. Keep him from hurting himself or anyone else."

A wordless 'Thank You' came from the ship's AI and the other Tenno who had been watching anxiously.

"Least we can do for a brother who just lost his closest kin." The Vauban said sadly as he sat in one of the chairs. "I just hope the medics can help him. We don't have enough kin as it is. And now... three less..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Waking**

Aeron was floating. Nothing hurt. Everything was...calm, serene.

"He is waking." The worried female voice came from somewhere, but the calmness that surrounded Aeron was too pervasive to fight. He didn't try. "Everybody out." Sounds of movement came to Aeron's ears, but it didn't matter. Nothing did. He was...calm. Everything was calm and peaceful. "Aeron? Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you." Aeron replied. He tried opening his eyes, but they wouldn't. But the voice wasn't his. It was the same odd thing that had screamed at Stalker on the Corpus ship. It was his voice, but... it wasn't. "Where am I?"

"You in a medical center in our dojo." The female voice was calm and gentle. "We were the closest medical care. Currently you are floating in a tank filled with nutrient fluid. A mask is over your nose and mouth so we can talk. Your injuries have been tended. How do you feel?"

"Strange." Aeron said slowly, not that he could seem to focus to speak faster. "My voice is...wrong..."

"Yeah." The female voice sighed. "You took damage to your throat and then screamed loud enough to damage your healing vocal cords. We think we can fix it." From her tone, she wasn't sure. "it is not life threatening."

"How long?" Aeron asked after a moment.

"It's been eighteen hours since you left the Corpus ship." The voice paused. "Since you..." She broke off.

"I accomplished my mission." Aeron said simply. "Thank you for your care, healer. I was... out of it."

"You were." The voice -it had to be a doc- agreed. "Now?" She pressed.

"I don't understand." Aeron said slowly." What do you mean?"

"Aeron, you just went through hell." The voice said sadly. "We are here to help. Talk to me, Aeron. What are you feeling?"

"I don't understand." Aeron repeated, confused. "I feel fine."

"Aeron, we have you on several mild sedatives to help you stay calm." The doc said calmly. "You resisted our attempts to help you, violently. We had to sedate you heavily to get you out of your warframe."

"Did I hurt anyone?" Aeron asked, mildly concerned.

"No." The doc reassured him. "We were careful. But we are very worried about you, Aeron." Something rubbed his forehead, a gentle touch. "I am sorry for your losses, Aeron. I know they were your kin." Aeron felt pain, but... it was minor. The ache that should have come from the remembrance of his dead kin was...not there. Or it was, but...muted.

"They died fighting." Aeron said flatly. "And I avenged them."

"That particular Corpus ship will never reach a base." The doc agreed. "The Tenno who responded to your ship's distress call were upset by what happened."

"Couldn't happen to nicer people." Aeron said savagely. He felt a trickle of anger come and ruthlessly squashed it.

"Let it out, Aeron." The female doc said gently. "You can't hurt me, or anyone else. Let your anger out. We can help you. Pull it out and we can deal with it."

"I don't need your help, doc." Aeron said, relaxing slowly. "I need to get back to work."

"Yes, you do need help." The doc disagreed. "Aeron, you have massive trauma to your psyche. I cannot let you out until we deal with it. It is not safe for you _or_ others."

"I don't need your help, doc." Aeron repeated firmly, forcing himself to relax.

"Aeron, listen to yourself." The doc pleaded. "Please... You are hurting, I know you are hurting. I can help." She begged.

"I don't need your help." Aeron declared and sank into a meditation. Instead of cool images though, his meditation was filled with white. It was...wrong. But it felt good. He became aware of conversation and snapped out of his meditation to listen.

"They are wrong." The female doctor said quietly but with force. Was she crying?

"Amelia..." A deep male voice said just as quietly. "Did he go berserk?"

"I..." The female doctor sounded defeated. "I don't know." She admitted. "The brain waves readings flat lined, Sensei. They had to be blocked somehow. No one _alive_ is that flat line."

"I know of ways to block them from recorders, doctor." The deep voice of the one called 'Sensei' sounded mild, but underneath lay worry. His voice turned kind." Get some rest, Amelia. You did well."

"Not well enough." The doctor said, dejected. "His physical injuries have healed. But... Sensei..." She begged.

"It is out of our hands, Amelia." Sensei replied with equal sadness. "It's in his. I will talk to him. Two should be back in an hour or so, she will likely be exhausted. Do _not_ exhaust her further until she has had a chance to rest." He warned.

"I won't." Amelia promised. "I don't think I thanked you properly..."

"We needed you, Amelia." Sensei's voice was kind."'Get some rest. You did well." Then the voice hardened. "I know you can hear me, Aeron."

"So?" Aeron asked, still caught in the haze of drugs and white.

"Do you seek death?" The voice of the male was hard now. Adamant. No give at all, but there... an odd undercurrent. Understanding? "Who do you want to kill?"

Aeron thought for a moment before replying. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to kill anyone except his enemies. He certainly didn't want to kill kin. That thought...hurt and he retreated a bit from it. No. He didn't want to die. He wanted the white again. The rush. The feeling of power, of invincibility.

"No." Aeron said quietly. "I do not want to die. I want to fight, but... Enemies. Not kin."

"Glad to hear it." The voice said with a sigh. "You are a mess, Aeron. If we were not in such dire straits, we would lock you up until we could get through the blocks you have in place to fool the machinery." Aeron must have made a noise of confusion because the voice laughed mirthlessly. "Don't lie to me, boy. I have seen vengeance crazed before. Amelia hasn't. But..."

"But?" Aeron pressed when the voice didn't continue.

"If you are not a threat to kin, then you are a powerful weapon, Aeron." Sensei said frankly. "If you are..." He trailed off and Aeron felt a chill. If this 'Sensei' decided Aeron was a threat, Aeron would never leave this room alive. "Tell me..." Sensei said after a moment. "Is it red or white?"

"How do you...?" Aeron clamped his mouth shut.

"You think you are the _only_ one who has ever felt that rush, Aeron?" Old pain sounded in Sensei's voice, but then vanished. "It's important, Aeron. Red or white?"

"White." Aeron said in an undertone. "Do you know what it is?"

"I have heard various theories." Sensei said with a sigh. "But I think... It's kind of a mental bandage. One that blocks a lot things from affecting the brain. As a side effect, if keeps machinery from reading neural activity. You probably never even _heard_ your AI begging you to get into the medical center before you bled out. _White_ is a bandage thing anyway." His tone hardened. "If you _ever_ see red, Aeron, if you have a gun, take it and blow your brains out. Fast."

"That bad?" Aeron said, fear trickling through whatever was holding him. It vanished quickly.

"It took nine Tenno to stop the last one I know of who completely lost it, Aeron." Sensei said heavily. "Who gave in to her bloodlust. Four of them died doing it. I was there."

"My god..." Aeron said slowly, dazed. "Why tell me?"

"Because you are not completely gone." Sensei said with a snort. "There is still hope for you. You do not have to face this alone, Aeron. I understand what you are facing. I understand it very well. Locking you up is not the answer. But letting you out, on your own, such as you are, is also not an good answer. You are teetering on the edge. And you have cause."

"I don't want your pity." Aeron said with a trace of heat. He was not expecting Sensei to laugh.

"Good because you do not have it." The other Tenno said with another booming laugh. "You are _dangerous_, boy." His voice turned serious. "Pity? Oh, we don't pity you. We will be watching. If you do go off, we will stop you. No matter the cost." There was no give in the other Tenno's voice now.

"I don't want to hurt kin." Aeron said slowly. A spasm ran up his spine, but the white seemed to absorb it. "What _is_ this? This white? A bandage? In my mind?"

"Ah..." Sensei seemed to relax a bit. "A bandage is the best analogy those of us who have seen it have come up with. We think it is a reaction to the neural interface to the warframes. You know Tenno evolved from humans." Aeron nodded a little, his motions slowed by the fluid he was lying in. "There were always humans who... embraced the less than stable sides of their emotions."

"Yes." Aeron said slowly. "Berserkers from the northern part of the European continent?" He asked.

"What were called the 'Northmen', yes." Sensei replied. "But there were others. Almost every society that survived past infancy had stories of warriors who ignored pain, fought overwhelming odds with no sense of survival. It was not an isolated occurrence, nor particular to any one region or group. Many Tenno, myself included, believe that the particular genetic anomaly that caused it passed on to Tenno. That _all_ of us have the chance to have it happen."

"That would be..." Aeron swallowed. "...bad."

"You have a talent for understatement." Sensei said seriously. He took a deep breath. "So... Will you allow us to try to help? Try to aid you? I guarantee that you will not enjoy all of it. But we will also not lock you up. We will not do anything without your permission. We will let you fight, but not alone."

"I..." Aeron thought about that for a moment. What choice did he have? Stay locked up or in this tank or fight? He didn't feel that he needed help, but... He wasn't clear. Nothing was. Everything was shades of white. "I don't know how I feel. I want to fight... The rush..."

"It felt good. Beyond good." Sensei said in an odd tone. One that Aeron suddenly realized was complete understanding. "Nothing could touch you. I saw your video records. You startled the hell out of Stalker." Sensei snorted. "Served the bastard right, underestimating your opponent is never a good idea." Aeron jerked as something he couldn't define hit him hard. "Aeron?" Sensei asked, worried.

"I felt something... odd."Aeron was trying to understand, and understanding eluded him. "It wasn't anger... I don't...I don't know _what_ it was..."

"Still white?" Sensei asked carefully.

"Yeah." Aeron said, shaking. "That was...not fun..."

"I bet. Nothing showed up on the machinery." Sensei said after a moment. "Whatever it is, it is deep. Very deep in your mind, Aeron. We can help you. If you let us."

"This happened to you?" Aeron asked softly. "Not just the one who lost control? But to you?"

"I know the white, Aeron." Sensei said quietly. "I faced it when I had to kill kin who went rogue. I saw the white and I retreated from it. It took years, Aeron. But I did stop craving it. We can help you."

"You are Karl." Aeron said slowly. "I heard...some..."

"Truth and fiction both, I bet." Karl agreed. "That is the way of things." He became businesslike. "Now, I will not ask you to swear to my clan, but can you swear not to harm any in this dojo? We have humans and others as support staff."

"Others?" Aeron asked. Just having _humans_ in a Tenno dojo was odd enough. "What others?"

"We have a cyborg medic and a former Grineer who is learning Bushido." Karl said calmly as if that were perfectly normal. "Four humans, including the doctor who treated your injuries. None of them would have a chance against you if you turn violent."

"Good point." Aeron said, thinking. "A restraint implant?"

"I would rather not." Karl said heavily. "I don't like them to begin with, and several of our staff had... similar objects forced on them."

"I see." Aeron said slowly. "Then the rumors that he, um..." Aeron did not name the one who had been Karl's brother. He wasn't that stupid. "That he did have slaves..."

"Were true." Karl said heavily. "We will not treat you as a slave You are a brother. One who has been grievously injured. We will help you. If you let us."

"And if I say no?" Aeron asked softly.

"Then you will go to sleep here and wake up in a medical facility at one of the colonies." Karl said in a similar voice. "And since this 'white' is not something they can fix or even _detect_... They will rule you unstable, a threat to all."

"And I spend the rest of my life confined." Aeron expected to be bitter, but... it didn't come. He wasn't numb, but...he was. This was very strange. "I feel...detached."

"Part of that is the sedatives." Karl agreed. "We wanted you calm while your body healed. Well? What say you, Aeron?"

"I don't..." Aeron paused, baffled. "This is so strange. It's like every emotion is behind walls of fuzz, not just the bad ones. Is that what it felt like for you?" He asked, worried.

"Yeah." Karl agreed. "That is what it felt like. Aeron, we can help you. You do need help, not to be locked away." The sympathy in the other Tenno's voice was heartfelt.

"I don't feel...bad." Aeron said softly. "But, I don't feel at all. I can see the danger, Tenno Karl. This is addictive."

"Very." Karl agreed.

"I will harm none in your dojo." Aeron said formally. "If I do...go worse, or whatever. Can you stop me?"

"Yes." Karl's voice was flat.

"I swear by my sword and by my service that I will harm none in your dojo, Karl of the Tenno." Aeron said quietly but with force. "I submit to whatever restraint or surveillance you decree. Do... Do not let me harm kin. Please." A trickle of fear shot through Aeron and then it was gone.

"I swear to you, Aeron of the Tenno..." Karl replied with equal formality. "...we will aid you to the best of our ability. And... If it comes to it. You will _not_ harm kin. I swear it. By blood and by steel, I swear it."

"I accept your oath, Karl of the Tenno."Aeron said simply. "Now what?"

"now we get you out of there." Karl said with a smile in his voice. "You will sleep through that. And be thankful. They had put some tubes in _very_ odd places. You will be assigned quarters and duties. We do not have a lot of staff and no one, not even me, is allowed to shirk."

"I understand." Aeron said with a slow nod that was all the fluid allowed. "Might want a shower too." He paused as he did not feel a smile come. "I can't even laugh?"

"All emotion is dampened, Aeron." Now Karl's voice had sympathy. "I think... I think when I faced the white was when I lost the ability to love... Only recently, have I felt that emotion again."

"I see." Aeron said, feeling faint.

"We will help you, Aeron." Karl promised. "But for now, sleep. You have class when you wake."

"Class?" Aeron asked, hint of incredulity sounding before it was subsumed.

"You will like it." Karl promised him as Aeron slid into slumber, the white crackling around him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Class**

To his surprise, Aeron did enjoy it.

He was still numb. The white that seemed to be suffusing his entire being was everywhere. As soon as the sedatives had worn off, the fuzz had come back. It was so much that Aeron had to focus heavily on what was happening around him. But everyone around him knew it.

When he had woken, he had been in a standard set of dojo quarters. Basically a small bed, a locker and a bathroom with shower cubicle. Nothing else. A robe had been waiting for him, his size of course. A shower later, he had felt alive again, despite the fuzz in his mind. As soon as he had finished, a female human who introduced herself as 'Mari' had announced herself and led him...here.

When Karl had said 'Class', Aeron had immediately thought of classrooms, lectures, that kind of thing. Close in, easy to hear and see whatever the teacher was saying or doing. Nothing could have been further from the huge open room that greeted him and his guide. The female human led him to where a Tenno in a Rhino warframe was standing in the middle of a circle of... well, calling them eclectic was probably the best way to describe them.

Three other Tenno, easy to tell from their bodysuits and general demeanor and physiques, sat around the circle. One male Tenno and two female. One of the female Tenno sat very close to a female human whose eyes strayed to that Tenno often. They were far enough apart that they could not touch and Aeron realized that was intentional. The other two Tenno seemed to be sitting apart intentionally. They never actually looked at one another, but there was obviously some kind of bond between them.

One female human sat in an automated chair of some kind, her arms were free but her neck and lower body were immobilized. A male human sat beside her, his eyes flicking this way and that, but no other motion showed. Then there was what had to be a female Grineer, sitting quietly, listening to the Sensei. A very odd group indeed.

Mari led Aeron to a cleared space in the circle and sat gracefully. He knelt in place slowly, carefully. He noted that each of the sitting people was just far enough away from the others that they would not be able to reach with hands without moving. A sensible precaution. He had knelt and waited. He hadn't had to wait long.

"Cora." The Rhino's voice was familiar. Karl was standing easily, legs apart and arms folded. "Have you thought on the passage I assigned?"

"Yes, Sensei." The female Grineer replied, her tone easy, but it held the hint of confusion. "I studied it, but...I don't understand it." She admitted sheepishly. Aeron stared at her, amazed. First that a Grineer wasn't hostile, then that she seemed so comfortable here as to admit lack of knowledge.

"No one ever said it was going to be easy, Cora." Karl said gently. "What don't you understand?"

"How can 'nothing' be 'everything', Sensei?" Cora asked, her voice almost plaintive. "That is a flat contradiction. I thought..." She slumped a bit.

Aeron paused in his clandestine scrutiny of the group. They were learning Zen? Here? He had heard a bit about Karl's fascination with the philosophy of Bushido. Indeed, Matt... Aeron paused and took a breath, but no emotional pain came. He felt... odd. Aeron looked up to see the Rhino looking at him, but when the Rhino spoke it was directed at Cora.

"It _is_ contradictory, Cora." Karl said quietly. "And therein lies the core of Zen. To be everything you wish to be, you have to be nothing. You have to embrace nothing."

"But..." Cora was shaking her head, utterly baffled. "How can you be 'nothing'?" She asked, her query heartfelt. "Just being makes you 'something'. I understand that the sound of one hand clapping is silence, nothing. But..." She shook her head again, dejected.

"This is not easy, Cora." Karl encouraged her. "People have been struggling with this concept since it was first developed, many centuries ago. I have known people who got it right off, and others who took years, decades even. Keep at it." Cora stared at him.

"Decades?" The former female Grineer asked weakly.

"Yes, Cora." Karl said gently. "Decades. But you are well on your way. Just keep thinking about it. It will come. " He looked around and nodded. "Good, everyone is here. We can start. Two?" He nodded to the female Tenno who sat with the female human and she nodded and rose.

"Karen?" She asked the chair bound woman. "Has Amelia cleared you for exercise?"

"My arms work now." The woman in the chair said with a sigh. "But I need to work them up to strength again."

"Karen." A growl came from a familiar voice and Aeron looked at the human female who had been sitting beside this Two person. The voice was the doctor who had been there when he had woken. She looked at him, nodded and then at the chair bound woman who flinched. "That is not what I told you." She said quietly. The chair bound woman jerked and then sighed.

"No, Two." Karen said softly. "I am not cleared for exercise."

"I know you are chafing, Karen." Two said, kneeling down beside the chair bound woman. "I know being stuck in a chair sucks. But you are not a burden to us. You help us all." She lifted the woman's chin with a gentle finger so she looked Karen in the eyes. "Don't hurt yourself, please?" She pleaded. "You are already better. Let Amelia and Jimmy do their magic. You will be walking and running with us in next to no time. _If_..." She cautioned the human woman. "_If_ you listen to them."

"I didn't..." Karen stammered. "I don't...I mean..." She snarled at herself and spoke evenly. "I will obey the doctor's orders."

"Good girl." Two smiled, bent down and gave Karen a kiss on the cheek. "Now, roll back. I need you to be our spotter and counter. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Two." Karen said with a nod. "I can do that." She smiled. "Nothing wrong with my eyes or lungs." She hit a control and the chair hummed back until it was flush against the wall, the woman's eyes flitting here and there.

Two nodded to the chair bound woman and then looked at the others. All rose quietly to their feet and Aeron followed suit. Two stepped to his side and spoke quietly.

"We start with basic calisthenics, and then move on to stretches and such. Then we spar." Two said as the group started doing slow movements that Aeron recognized as preliminaries to an ancient exercise called 'jacking jumps'. "While we are doing that, Sensei talks about Bushido. I don't know if you follow it..." Aeron shook his head and Two nodded as she slotted in beside him, both Tenno starting the slow movements to match the others. "No problem. Amelia has cleared you for exercise, but wants me to watch closely. She is worried a few of your wounds may open."

"She shouldn't." Aeron said calmly as he jumped, his legs spreading wide to land apart and his hands coming together over his head. "She does good work."

"She is a worry wart." Two said with a fond smile at the human woman who was now mimicking all the others, their slow movements picking up speed. She nodded to the woman at the wall. "Now, Karen."

Karen started speaking slowly and clearly, enunciating each number carefully and the group quickly meshed their motions to her count. While they did, Sensei spoke.

"The Way of the Warrior is found in Death." Sensei said quietly, his warframe doing the same motions effortlessly. And silently. Aeron was impressed. Rhino warframes were heavy, bulky things. Like all warframes, they allowed the wearer to act as if they were unencumbered, but Rhino warframes were known for being blocky, chunky. Not for being graceful. Then again, Karl _had_ worn them for a very long time. "Seven tenets, seven core principles. Karen..." He called and she spoke again, each word measured in time as the numbers had been.

"Justice." Karen said clearly and all the others repeated the word. Aeron did not, but he felt something stir within him before being stifled by the white that still fuzzed his brain. The seated woman continued in that same measured voice. "Bravery. Benevolence. Politeness. Veracity. Honor. Loyalty." When Karen spoke the word 'Loyalty', Two nodded to Aeron as she repeated it. He stopped his motions as everyone else did.

"Everyone warmed up?" Sensei asked, his gaze going around. All bowed their heads, including Aeron. "Good. Sparring next. Keep it slow, keep it simple. We don't want anyone hurt. Karen, you are the spotter. Call out if you see anything happen. Aeron..." Sensei said calmly as Aeron jerked a bit. "You are with me." That made sense. Since Aeron wasn't totally stable, it made sense for Sensei to be in a warframe, just in case. There was no way Aeron could... He froze as Sensei nodded to a rack of weapons nearby. "Choose."

"Should I be armed?" Aeron asked slowly, not moving.

"I am not going to make you punch my warframe with bare fists, Aeron." Despite himself, Aeron had to grin at Sensei's wry words. "All the weapons there are live. You need the exercise. So do I." Sensei said, stepping to the rack. Aeron noticed others moving to similar racks spread around the hall and then pairing up. Two went with the female Grineer. The male Tenno picked up a skana and moved to the center, the male human pickign up a similar sword to match him. The other Tenno moved to partner with Mari. They bowed to each other and started basic drills. "Staff?"

"Sure." Aeron said, bemused. He flinched as a Bo came flying through the air at him. He caught it instinctively and twirled it, checking it's balance. It was solid and felt good in his hands. The white within him surged as soon as the weapon touched his hands and he grimaced a little. "I don't know if this is a good idea..."

"You need to know your limits, Aeron." Sensei said, a staff identical to Aeron's spinning in his own hands. The Rhino jerked his head at a barely visible circle on the deck plates and started walking towards it. Aeron followed. Sensei strode to the far side of the circle and grounded his staff, waiting on Aeron, who had paused at the edge of the circle. "Problem?" The Rhino inquired calmly.

"This weapon is blunt." Aeron said slowly, staring at the staff in his hand and then looking up at the Rhino. "The damage it does will be transmitted right through your armor via the shock vibrations. I could hurt you." He said slowly.

"You could." Sensei agreed. "What makes you think I will let you?" Aeron just stared at the Rhino and Sensei nodded. "Your caution is admirable, Aeron. But not needed. We are going to spar, but not all out. Basic drills only. Can you handle that?"

"I don't know." Aeron admitted. "I need to find out how far this...bandage will hold. If it does go red... Can you recognize it? Stop me?" He asked.

"That is why I am in my warframe, Aeron." Sensei said calmly. "I can and I will. But this will be basic drills, no actual..." He paused and snarled something under his breath. "Will!" He called, his voice calm, but authoritative. The Tenno in question nodded and moved to where Two had shifted partners. She was engaged with a human who was obviously losing her temper at not being able to connect with the agile Tenno's blade. The male Tenno immediately stopped his bout with the male human, who stepped back.

"Mari!" The Tenno with the Skana strode to where a female human was swinging her sword wildly. "Stop." He commanded. The woman froze in place. His skana came down, rapping the frozen woman's sword to the side. "Slow." He commanded. "This is not a battle. Not a fight for your life." He moved to stand beside her. "With me." He said quietly. He waved his blade and the male human stepped up to him.

Aeron watched as the Tenno ran through the basic sword drills, Two matching his motions opposite. After a moment Mari and the male human matched them as well, all four dancing slowly in the ancient patterns of swordplay.

"She is angry." Aeron said slowly as he stepped into the circle with Sensei, his staff grounding as well.

"She has cause." Sensei said heavily. "The training helps."

"Yeah." Aeron said quietly. "It does. Ready?" He asked. Sensei nodded and Aeron brought his staff up to guard position. "Which drill?"

"1" Sensei replied, his own staff coming up to guard. Both bowed and then began. His staff began to move in slow, deliberate arcs, each one balanced.

Aeron matched them, move for move, from the other side of the circle and the white...retreated.

"What the-?" Aeron said slowly, not pausing his staff's movement. "It... backed off... Or something..."

"Careful, Aeron." Sensei said calmly, but urgency lay underneath. "That is not good. You are probably used to it by now. Used to it warding you."

"So if I get angry...I can lose control far faster. Not good." Aeron swallowed but managed to keep his mind still by focusing his mind on the swirling staff. Block, strike, turn, spin, strike. The motions soothed him until the white returned. "It's back." He said, a little relieved, but also perturbed.

"Does it feel the same?" Sensei asked. Aeron nodded and Sensei sighed. "Okay. I am going to start basic attacks. Defend yourself. I will not hurt you." He promised.

"Okay." Aeron had his staff up guarding, but the impact of Sensei's staff nearly threw Aeron's from his hands. He spun, keeping to the drill as Sensei's staff came in, slow, but the impacts were devastatingly powerful. Each one rocked Aeron back despite his stance and readiness. Suddenly the white surged and Aeron jumped back. "I..."

"Enough." Sensei said sharply, his staff going back to ready position. "How bad?" He asked carefully.

"I don't know." Aeron said softly. "It...surged. I think..." He shook his head. "I don't feel... anything, but... I should..." He slumped a bit. "What do I do?"

"For now..." Sensei said kindly. "Finish your drill solo. I will match your motions, but not attack." He started the drill again and Aeron matched the motions, glad for something to use the energy that he had suddenly acquired somehow.

"Is this going to happen every time I get into a fight?" Aeron asked when they had finished and both had grounded their staves.

"It's not the same as what I experienced, Aeron." Sensei said with a sigh as he racked his staff. Aeron tossed his to the dojo master and Sensei caught it easily. "Every mind is different. Every person, be they Tenno or human, or Grineer, is different. But to answer your question: I don't know."

"Maybe..." Aeron swallowed heavily, but continued. "Maybe you should lock me up."

"No." Sensei said in a milder tone. "You are hurt. Your are grieving. Even if you cannot feel it currently, you are grieving. You need help, not to be locked up. We will help you."

"I don't see how." Aeron said sadly.

"Aeron..." Sensei stepped close and held out a hand, which Aeron took. "We will help you one way or another. Amelia and Alicia have some ideas. But to find out if they are correct, they are going to have to poke and prod you."

"Joy." Aeron said with a sigh. He wanted to feel exasperated, but it didn't come. He shook himself. "Chores?"

"We are still cleaning up the mess I left when I came here." Sensei said with a sigh. "And we will for some time. You heard?" Sensei asked.

"Sentients." Aeron said with a snap. The white surged at him, but he didn't feel the anger and fear he had before. When he had fought them with other Tenno. "You got the controller."

"We are finding dormant drones in odd places." Sensei agreed. "You are small enough to get into places that others cannot. _And_ you know what to do if you find one."

"I will help." Aeron said simply. "As repayment for your hospitality at the very least." He paused as Sensei raised a hand. "Yes?"

"I have an ulterior motive." Sensei said with a nod as Aeron froze. "I want you in my clan."

"Me?" Aeron said, stiffening further. "Why me?"

"Because you are a powerful weapon, Aeron. And because I know what it is to be alone, Aeron." Sensei said sadly. "You do not need to be."

"I..." Aeron shook his head. "I can't. Not... Not now."

"I know." Sensei said calmly. "I didn't want it hitting you by surprise. We would welcome you, even if you cannot follow the ways of Bushido, we would welcome you."

"I will think about it." Aeron said as the pair of mismatched Tenno strode back to the reforming group.

"That is all I ask." Sensei said with a nod. "You are welcome in our class anytime."

"I..." Aeron paused and then bowed formally to the Sensei. "I am honored."

"The honor is ours." Sensei said as he took his place at the front of the group. "Okay, lets debrief. Mari..." He said sourly. "You promised to stick to the drill this time."

"Yes, Sensei. No excuse, Sensei." Mari said, her face flushed from the embarrassment and the exercise. Sensei made a gesture and she dropped to the floor and started to crack out pushups, counting each one clearly. Aeron looked at her and then at Sensei who nodded.

"She will be awhile." Sensei said calmly. "Five hundred pushups take a while." Aeron's eyes went wide and then he nodded. "Okay, Two, what was that odd flourish at the end of kata six?"

"Ah..." Two jerked and blushed. "I nearly dropped my sword." Sensei shook his head and made a similar gesture at Two who nodded and started doing pushups as well.

"Two hundred." Sensei commanded and Two nodded in the midst of her pushups. "The rest, well done. We search the living quarters today. Same as before, if you find a drone, call for a Fragor. _Do not_ touch it." Aeron felt as if he should have shivered in memory, but the fear didn't come. Or it was blocked. Sensei nodded to him. "When we are done with the search, Aeron, you go see Amelia and Alicia in medical. Jimmy is there too."

"Yes Sensei." All of the, including Aeron, chorused.


	4. Chapter 4

**Scans**

"Aeron?"

The gentle voice of the human doctor pulled Aeron out of his doze. He looked up from the bed on which he had laid down, the one with all the scanner equipment arrayed around it. It was fairly comfortable, but he hadn't slept well. The white kept drowning out his dreams. He wasn't entirely sure that was a bad thing.

"Yes doctor?" Aeron asked, stifling a yawn.

"We have finished the first set of scans." Amelia said with a smile. "You can take a break while we look over the data we got."

"What would I do?" Aeron asked quietly, laying his head back down.

"Come on, Aeron." Another voice sounded from nearby. He looked up to see the other non-cyborg medical person mock glaring at him. "All work and no play make Tenno grumpy." Alicia shook her head, but maintained her glare until he sighed.

"I don't see the point, Alicia." Aeron admitted as he sat up. "If I do anything stressful, I may lose control."

"Who said anything about stressful?" Alicia demanded, still playing. "I said 'fun', Aeron. That doesn't necessarily mean stressful. What did you do for fun before?" Aeron just looked at her and she sighed. "Aeron, please?" She asked, her tone turning serious.

"I don't want to think about it, Alicia." Aeron said slowly. "I am worried that if I do, it will make things worse."

"It might." Alicia agreed. "Aeron, we have at least six hours worth of data to go through." Aeron's eyes widened and Alicia nodded. "No matter what else they may have been, the former occupants of this dojo did not scrimp on medical gear."

"Not when they could steal it." Amelia said with a glower. She subsided at Alicia's look.

"We have a lot of work to do, Aeron, but you will be bored out of your mind listening to us bandy medical gobbledy-gook back and forth." Alicia said with a sigh. "So... Hmmm." She mused for a moment. "What was your preferred weapon?" She asked after a moment.

"Amphis." Aeron said slowly, not understanding. "Why?"

"You were up close and personal?" Alicia asked, curious.

"I preferred to stay at range." Aeron admitted. "But the way we fought, I usually wound up at close quarters most of the time."

"Well..." Alicia said with a nod. "Sensei has refurbished the firing range here. It's sweet." She said with a grin.

"You would trust me with a loaded weapon?" Aeron asked, incredulous. The feeling vanished into the white. Alicia shook her head. "What then?"

"Miguel runs the range, don't try to take anything out of it without permission. I did and... um..." She blushed. "I wound up here." She waved at the medical ward. At that, Aeron's eyes went _very_ wide and she hastened to explain. "I forgot it wasn't _my_ Lato... It felt natural on my hip... I didn't _think_ about it..." She said, embarrassed.

"Will was not happy." Amelia said with a nod.

"What happened?" Aeron asked, mildly concerned. He should have felt worried, but it didn't come.

"As I say, I screwed up." Alicia said with a sigh. "Security systems are set to knock out any personnel carrying unauthorized weapons. They do it without warning. It is automated and I was warned when I used the range. I deserved what happened, I messed up." She said with a shrug. "But you can try the range. It's the best therapy I know anyway, to make things go boom."

"I don't like what I do."Aeron said softly. "But someone has to do it."

"Neither do I." Alicia agreed. "But being the best we can be at whatever we try, that is an admirable goal. And we don't have to like what a firearm does to appreciate the precision and artistry that goes into making one, or making it do it's best."

"I can see that." Aeron said after a moment. "I can give it a try. But if I have problems..." He trailed off as Alicia nodded.

"You are under full time surveillance, Aeron." Alicia said gently. "It's not that we don't trust you." She said sadly.

"I can't trust myself." Aeron agreed as he swung his legs off the bed. He sighed as he looked over his bodysuit. The robes he had worn for class had been exchanged for a neutral color neck to toe covering. It provided warmth and was transparent to most forms of scans, so it made sense for what he had been sent to Medical for. He put his feet to the floor, grateful for the boots that made up part of the bodysuit and stood carefully. "Do I need a guide?"

"Karen..." Alicia paused and looked to the side, at another monitor. "Yes, Jimmy is done with Karen. She is scheduled for a run at the range."

"Karen." Aeron said slowly. "The girl in the chair?" Alicia looked at him and he shrugged. "I mean no offense, but that is the most memorable thing about her on first glance."

"She is a lot more than a _chair_, Aeron." Alicia said with a grimace. "She is recovering, just not as fast as we had hoped."

"A sliced spinal cord is not a minor injury." Amelia said with a glower of her own from nearby where she stood by set of medical computers. "She is doing very well."

"I don't know her." The male Tenno said with a shrug. "I meant no insult, but I do not know her except what I saw at the class. She seemed...enthusiastic." Both female snorted in laughter at his dry words.

"One way to put it." Alicia agreed. "Obstinate is probably closer. Girl has no quit in her at all. She wants her body to work _now_ instead of at it's own speed." Aeron's eyes narrowed and Alicia nodded. "She keeps hurting herself."

"That is... not good."Aeron said slowly. "I am no medic myself, but won't that slow her recovery?"

"It does." Amelia agreed without turning. "Maybe you can distract her a bit?"

"Me?" Aeron asked as he took a few careful steps, glad for the break. His body had been inactive for a bit and was taking longer than he was used to for it to acclimatize. "What can I do?" He asked after a moment.

"You are a new face." Alicia said with a nod. "A Tenno who is not one of the ones who abused her." For a moment, her face was very hard.

"Do I want to know?" Aeron asked carefully.

"Let's just say..." Alicia said slowly. "She wasn't enthralled until _after_ she had been here for a while. After being kidnapped." Aeron's eyes went _very_ wide as he digested her meaning. "And I had cause to hate Nicholas _before_ I found out what he did to that poor girl..."

"I..." Aeron shook his head, horror coming before it vanished. Then he slumped a bit. "You know, whatever this 'white' thing is... I think it is a good thing I have it right now or I would be furious for her sake." Alicia nodded. "But... Since I am male... Is that a problem?"

"I...don't think so." Alicia said slowly. "The ones who did it to her are all dead or not coming back. Karen doesn't have a problem with Sensei, or Will. She and Miguel have bonded a bit, sharing a horrific experience can do that. Miguel is teaching her how to shoot and she is going to be _scary_ when she is done learning the basics."

"So..." Aeron took a deep breath. "What should I do? Or not do?"

"Don't treat her any different." Alicia said with a nod. "She is determined to keep up and-" She broke off as a door nearby opened. "Karen!" Alicia said brightly. "All done?"

"Telling people stories about me, Alicia?" The woman in the chair asked with a grin as she rolled it into the room. Her neck was no longer immobilized, but her lower body was. "I could tell some about you."

"I am trying to be nice." Alicia said with a matching grin. "Doesn't come naturally. Karen..." She waved at the chair bound woman with a slow hand. "This is Aeron. Aeron, Karen." Aeron gave Karen a nod.

"Pleased to meet you, Tenno." Karen said formally.

"And I you." Aeron replied politely. "Alicia says you know where the firing range is?"

"Oh, Alicia. You _have_ been telling stories behind my back." Karen said with a snort as Alicia maintained blank face. Karen smiled at Aeron. "Yes, I do and I am on my way there now. Want to come?"

"Sure." Aeron strode to stand beside the chair and followed as Karen started the wheeled contrivance off. Once the door to the medical ward closed behind them, he spoke for her ears only. "She wasn't telling stories."

"I know." Karen said with a grin as she led the way. "But Alicia is a worrier. I am tough."

"That you are." Aeron agreed. She looked sidelong at him and he shrugged. "Nothing but the truth."

"Well, at least you are not getting all emotional about this..." Karen said with a sigh as she waved hand at her chair.

"If I do..." Aeron said softly. "Run." Karen glanced at him and then nodded slowly.

"Even when the docs are done poking and prodding me, I am not going to run fast." Karen said with a sigh that faded as Aeron looked at her. "But I roll very fast." She said with a grin.

"Good for you." Aeron said with a nod. "Don't let it win." Karen's chair stopped in mid-corridor as she turned to stare at him. He shrugged. "I may not be able to feel now, but I _do_ remember the emotional roller coaster of being seriously injured. Volt warframes have power but not a lot of protection."

"I...see..." Karen said slowly. "I..." She shook herself. "Would you be offended if I asked to hold your hand?"

"Why?" Aeron asked, curious.

"Because you are a lot stronger than I am." Karen said, her brave front suddenly collapsing and grief peering out from her eyes. "Maybe I can get some help via osmosis?" She flinched as Aeron turned to face her, his posture even.

"You do yourself a disservice, Ma'am." Aeron said quietly and formally. "You don't need help. I do understand, if not your exact situation..." He waved at the chair and Karen flinched. "I don't see what help a broken Tenno can be, but if you wish..." He held out hand to Karen who took it in both of hers. She held it tight for a moment and then released it.

"Thank you." Karen said with feeling.

"For?" Aeron asked, curious.

"For not looking at me and seeing the chair." Karen said slowly. "I know, I know..." She said as Aeron made a noise of protest. "None of the others do. But I was worried you _would_."

"Without Alicia speaking to me, I might have." Aeron said with a small frown that vanished as the feeling of disquiet that caused it vanished into the white in his head. "But it would have been wrong. You are more than a chair."

"You are nice. And cute." Karen said and then froze, her face turning bright red. "No... No, I did _not_ just say that!" She exclaimed as she recoiled a bit in her chair. Aeron looked at her and a whisper of a grin quirked his mouth before vanishing.

"Say what?" Aeron asked quietly. "Did you say something?"

"No." Karen said, slowly relaxing. "Yes... I ... I shouldn't have said that. I am sorry. The therapy is helping, but I... The..." She swallowed heavily. "I still get...urges..." She shook herself savagely. "And my brain to mouth filter needs adjustment again..."

"After what you endured..." Aeron said kindly. "Anyone might have a few off moments. I took no offense, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Karen said with feeling. "But... Can you call me Karen? Ma'am seems... too formal."

"I am not one of your clanmates, Ma'am." Aeron protested softly. "Too much informality can be a hindrance at times. How about Ms Karen?"

"Technically, it was Mrs." Karen said, her face going wooden. "But... They all died in the War." Aeron froze and stared at her and she slowly nodded. "I answered an advertisement for a job. Low pay, horrid hours, but something to do besides sit and weep. I went to the interview location and it all went black. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."

"I am sorry..." Aeron said, feeling a stab of pain through him at the sheer anguish this woman had to be feeling. Then it was gone. "...Karen."

"No hope of escape." Karen mumbled. "Nothing but..." She curled in on herself and Aeron laid hand on her shaking shoulder.

"It's over, Karen." Aeron said quietly. "You survived. The ones who hurt you are dead. You will recover." He did not move as both her hands covered his and gave a squeeze. "Don't let the ones who abused you win, Karen."

"I won't." Karen said after a moment. When she looked up, her eyes were dry. "Thank you. For understanding."

"It...hasn't hit me yet." Aeron said slowly. "I don't know if it will through this white. When I finally on an emotional level realize my family..." He broke off as Karen made a small noise of understanding.

"...aren't coming back." Karen said, her eyes now glistening. "I am sorry, Aeron. My pain is old. Yours is fresh. I wasn't thinking."

"Karen..." Aeron said as gently as he could. "Its okay. I am not... well, fully functional. But I am functional. That said, shall we?"

"Let's." Karen said, giving his hand another squeeze before letting go and situating herself again. "Thanks. And Aeron?"

"Hmm?" He asked as she started off again. He matched her pace easily.

"You are cute." She said, her grin impish.

"I don't think that is appropriate at the moment, Karen." Aeron said with a small smile. "But the compliment is appreciated." They continued in silence for a moment and then Aeron broke it. "What is your preferred weapon?"

"Miguel has me learning on a Lato." Karen said with a nod. "Basic steps for beginners. Haven't got the arm strength currently for a rifle."

"Could rig some kind of support." Aeron said musing. She looked at him and he shrugged. "A tripod mount or something similar. If all you have to do is aim..."

"That is a thought." Karen replied, her tome bemused. "But wouldn't the recoil of the heavier weapons throw off the aim?"

"Depends on the weapon." Aeron said with another shrug. "I have seen it done. I once saw a little human boy fire a...heavy..." He trailed off.

"A heavy what?" Karen asked after a moment.

"I..." Aeron shook his head. "I don't know. "I have a memory of a small human boy. He was holding the grips of a heavy weapon, one that was mounted on a gimbal. He was...firing at something." He shook his head and nodded as Karen's baffled look. "Most of us lost memory, Karen." He paused as she inhaled sharply.

"A side effect of the cryopods?" Karen asked, her voice somewhere between wonder and horror. Aeron nodded and then froze as she gave a cry and burst into tears. "I thought it was just _me_..." She wailed.

"Karen?" Aeron asked, his hand coming up to lay on her shoulder. He was not prepared for her to pull him close, but he did not resist. Indeed, he knelt down to let her weep into his arm.

"I can't remember their faces. Or their names!" Karen cried. "It's all a blur now. I thought he took it when he put that thing in my head. After... After..." She swallowed heavily.

"The side effects of cryo are known, Karen." Aeron said sadly. The sadness vanished like all his other emotions. "I am sorry for your loss."

"Will it...come back?" Karen begged, her tear streaked face looking up at him. Aeron bowed his head and shook it.

"We...relearn much of what we lost, Karen." The male Tenno said after a moment. "But it never comes back."

"He wanted to make me forget." Karen said, her voice turning into a snarl. "He wanted me to serve him alone, not my memories. I will! I will remember! I will find out who they were if it takes me an eternity! I will!"

"If I can help..." Aeron said simply. "I will." Karen looked up, her arm scrubbing her face clear of tears that had stopped falling.

"You have." Karen said, her tone moderating. "Thank you, Aeron. Now, I need to get rid of some stress. Coming?" She said as he retreated a step, rising to follow as she started off again.

"Just point it at the targets please." Aeron said with a nod.

"Hey!" Karen said with a snap. "I am not Mari. That girl _really_ needs to lighten up a bit..."

"Problem?" Aeron asked slowly. Mari was the girl who had been off the drill in class.

"Mari is... a little chaotic at times." Karen said with a wince. "I do her a disservice, but she was the first one of us...enthralled. I know she had no choice but to put that thing in my head, but I don't know if I can forgive her."

"No one is asking you to." Aeron said softly. "The only one who can choose to forgive, is you."

"Would you?" Karen asked as they neared an elevator.

"I am not you, Karen." Aeron froze as a red beam played out from the wall nearby, playing over him. A modulated voice sounded.

"Unauthorized access. Identify." The computerized voice was not hostile, but neither was it friendly.

"Tenno Aeron and Initiate Karen to use the range." Karen said quietly. The beam clicked off and the elevator door opened. She smiled at his expression. "Is it paranoia when they _are_ all out to get us?"

"No." Aeron said with a smile as he followed her into the elevator.

_Hidden scanners. I think I will take Alicia's warning about unauthorized weapons __**very**__ seriously..._


	5. Chapter 5

**On Target**

Aeron and Karen exited the elevator into a short corridor. A door ahead was marked 'Range' and Karen headed for it. She paused at a locker by the door and looked at Aeron.

"Hearing protection?" She asked as she opened the locker and pulled out a set of ear protectors.

Aeron nodded, silent. Aeron examined the set she handed him. They hadn't changed much over the centuries since humans first realized that being in the vicinity of multiple repeated loud things was bad for the hearing. They were still cup like things that covered the ears of a humanoid being. He nodded in approval as Karen slid hers around her neck and placed a set of safety glasses over her face. He held out a hand and she handed him a set of those as well. Firing ranges, by definition, were not safe places. He slid the glasses on and then pulled the ear covers over his ears.

"Check, check." Aeron heard Karen's voice clearly in his ears as she spoke.

"Reading you clearly," Aeron replied evenly. "You?"

"Five by five." Karen replied, then paused. "Do you have any idea what that means? I don't and no one I have talked to does either. Miguel uses it, but he was a soldier and well... He knows what he is doing, so we copy him." She admitted a bit sheepishly.

"No." Aeron admitted. "It's just what people say when they are testing reception if they can hear properly. No idea what the people who coined it meant by it. Was a long time ago."

"True." Karen said with a shrug. "Ready?" She paused. "Ah, Miguel can be a bit... brusque..." She started only to pause as Aeron nodded.

"Considering the hell all of you went through, I am not surprised." Aeron said with a nod. "Do you know why he... Um..." He paused, looking for a polite way to say 'He was kidnapped'.

"I am not entirely sure." Karen said softly, her face squinching up as she grimaced. "They used him for research and development of weapons as well as manufacture. I know he was a soldier, and a weapons tech. Beyond that, he doesn't talk about what he did, before."

"Fair enough." Aeron said with a nod. "You trust him?"

"With my life." Karen said quietly. "He was always kind to me. He didn't need to be. He could have been rough, hurt me like some of the others... But he didn't. He was always gentle." Aeron froze and Karen hastened to speak. "No! No, not like that. After... After they..." She swallowed and Aeron nodded slowly. "He was always there for me, helping me, cleaning me up. I always got the feeling he wasn't a nice man. But he is a good one." She said with feeling. "A good friend."

"A good friend is a treasure." Aeron replied evenly. "One to be cherished." Karen nodded her agreement.

"Ready?" Karen asked again. Aeron nodded and she keyed the door open and rolled through. Aeron followed her in and moved with her to stand by a wall, out of the way.

The room was huge and segmented. Lockers dotted the walls and narrow tables ran along the walls in places as well. One segment was obviously a static shooting range. The woman called Cora was kneeling at one of the four lane stations there, a Burston rifle in hand spitting fire downrange. She was focused tightly on her targets and paid no attention to the pair entering. Another side of the room had a large blocky structure with a single door. Aeron figured that for some kind of holographic shoot house. Tenno were masters of Close Quarters Battle, but practice was always a good thing, in or out of a warframe. Another large segment was empty, but from the scorch marks on the floor and heavy duty walls, it was used for heavy weapon or explosives training. The final segment was a transparent walled enclosure where a male human wearing unpowered body armor was sitting at a desk. His eyes were sharp as they scrutinized Karen and Aeron, but then he focused on Cora.

"Time." A calm male voice sounded in Aeron's ears and Cora immediately stopped firing, her rifle moving to a safe posture and her hand clicking the safety on. "Let's see how you did, Cora."

"This isn't comfortable for me, Range Master Miguel." Cora said with a wince as she rose. "The handle is too small."

"Once we find something you are comfortable with, we can resize it to fit you specifically, Cora." The human said as he rose from his desk and exited what was obviously a control booth. "You do well with the Vulkar."

"Yeah." Cora agreed half heartedly. "Then again, the Vulkar was designed for people my size." She waited while the range master stepped up beside her and then visibly winced as he activated a hologram that showed her target. Holes showed all over it. She groaned. "I hate this. I _thought_ I knew how to shoot."

"You do." Miguel said with a nod. "But you learned some very bad habits. All of your rounds hit the target." He indicated the holo and Cora nodded, obviously against her will.

"And _how_ many would have actually done damage?" Cora asked sadly. The holographic humanoid shape was peppered with holes, but few were in vital spots. "I will get better." She promised.

"Yes, you will, Cora. Give me a couple of months to set you straight and you will be poking the eyes out of any of the targets with any weapon here. " Miguel said with a nod. "Especially when we find a weapon that suits you. The Grineer weapons are almost all mass produced junk." He said with a snap.

"No argument there. No need to waste good stuff on cannon fodder anyway." Cora said with a nod. "Pistol?" Miguel nodded to her.

"Lane one is set up for you. Pick a different one this time. Not the Lato." He growled at her as she slumped. "You need to learn the ins and outs of all of the weapons we have, Cora."

"Right." Cora said with a nod. "I'll try the Sicarus. For a Grineer weapon, it's not half bad."

"Good choice." Miguel agreed. "Secure the rifle, then pick up your pistol and three boxes of ammo while I get Karen and her friend set up." Cora nodded and unloaded her rifle carefully before starting to disassemble it for eventual cleaning. When Miguel was sure she was well on her way, he strode to where Karen was sitting. "Karen? Here for your daily quota of rounds?"

"Yeah." Karen agreed. "This is Aeron, the docs wanted him out from underfoot and suggested the range."

"Lane two, Karen." Miguel said with a nod. "Your Lato is there and two boxes of ammo. You will want to check it. You know how to set up the targets for yourself. I'll be by to check. Do not load until I come by." Karen nodded soberly.

"Right. Did you take the firing pin out this time?" Karen asked with a smile as she started off towards the indicated lane. But Miguel was looking at Aeron who looked back evenly.

"You are a full Tenno." Miguel said finally. "So you know your weapons."

"Some." Aeron agreed. "Practice rarely hurts."

"Preferred weapon?" Miguel asked, still scrutinizing the Tenno.

"Let's keep it simple." Aeron said quietly. "You got a spare Braton?"

"I do." Miguel said with a nod. "Come on..." He led the way to a wall locker and opened it. Inside was a variety of rifles. Aeron's eyes lingered on a few, but he waited until Miguel removed a rifle and extended it to him. Aeron checked that the weapon was on safe before visually checking that the magazine well was empty and no round was in the chamber. When he looked up, Miguel was nodding. "You do know your weapons."

"Usually you only get one mistake with a loaded weapon." Aeron said with a nod. "Magazine?" Miguel handed him one and Aeron smiled thinly as he examined it. He handed it back. "Magazine with intact feeder mechanism, please?"

"Good eyes." Miguel said, pocketing the defective magazine and pulling one out of the locker. "That got about three quarters of the recruits I saw. And some of regular troops."

"When your life depends on the magazine that feeds the ammunition into your rifle, you take _very_ good care to make sure it works." Aeron said with a nod. "May I?" He asked, indicating the rifle in his hands with a nod.

"Go ahead." Miguel said and then his eyes widened slightly as Aeron's eyes never left his, but the Tenno's hands swiftly disassembled the rifle in hand by touch. In seconds, the rifle was laid out on a table that was conveniently nearby. "You _are_ good." Miguel admitted.

"Lots of practice." Aeron said noncommittally. He looked down at the rifle and blinked. "The feeder assembly is not the norm? Specialty work?" He asked, curious.

"An innovation." Miguel said with a curt nod. "One reason they grabbed me. Feeds ammo faster." Aeron nodded absently as he scrutinized the disassembled rifle. "What?" Miguel demanded.

"I would have thought this bolt modification would _slow_ the cycling." Aeron said, curiosity peaking before vanishing into the white in his mind. Then he nodded. "Ah, a refurbished retaining pin on the separator assembly? It couldn't have been that simple." He said with a shake of his head. "What else?" He asked, looking up to see Miguel gaping at him. "What?"

"They only wanted it firing faster." Miguel said slowly. "They didn't care _how_ I did it."

"Then they were complete freaking idiots. Sergeant?" Aeron asked. Miguel nodded, his eyes still on the pieces of the rifle. "_Some_ of us have to rely on our tools to survive. It only makes sense to have the best available and to know the 'ins and outs' as you say." He started reassembling it, still by touch.

"I think I am going to like working with you, Tenno Aeron." Miguel said with a slow smile crossing his features. It was not a nice smile, more a feral promise. Aeron nodded. He understood this man just fine.

"If I make a mistake, correct me." Aeron said quietly. "And... If I go off, stop me." He said slowly as he finished reassembling the rifle and slung it. Miguel paused and then nodded slowly.

"I will." Miguel said softly. "Ammo." He pulled three boxes of rifle ammunition from the locker. Aeron looked at the boxes and Miguel snorted a laugh. "No tricks now. One professional to another."

"Begging your pardon, Sergeant." Aeron said with a small smile that vanished as his amusement did. "I am going to check them."

"How would I rig a box of ammo?" Miguel asked with another snort. "They are sealed deals."

"Repaint a box of pistol ammo?" Aeron asked with a shrug as he pointed to the box on top. Miguel looked down and indeed, while the box was blue like rifle ammunition, it was marked with a 'P' for pistol.

"Wha-? I didn't do that." Miguel said, perplexed as he checked the others. "I wonder... " He replaced the wrong box with a real box of rifle ammunition. Then he slumped a bit as he checked the logs. "Ah...Mari was the last to use this locker. I might have known. She probably thought it was funny. That girl..."

"Might be a good test, Sergeant. Lots of people go by color instead of reading, especially when the excrement hits the air circulation system." Aeron said diffidently. "But you will want to talk to her about monkeying with ammunition. Not a good prank."

"Good test." Miguel agreed as he put the three boxes of ammo into a pouch with a sling. Then he held the ouch out for Aeron to take. Aeron took the pouch and examined the boxes inside with practiced speed before nodding. "But you are right. Not a good prank. Static targets?"

"To start." Aeron agreed. "I am likely rusty."

"Why do I get the feeling that your 'rusty' and mine are two _completely_ different things?" Miguel asked with another snorted laugh. "I will set lane three up for you. Do not load or fire until the others are set." He cautioned. "For all her spunk, Karen is a raw beginner and startles easily. Cora needs reassurance, not surprises. Especially loud ones."

"Readback. Take up station at lane three. Do not load or fire until commanded." Aeron acknowledged with a nod as Miguel started off towards the enclosure again. The Tenno strode to the indicated lane and pulled each box of ammunition out of the pouch to set on the flat firing surface. He unslung his rifle and watched as holographic targets appeared in the distance in his lane. "Lane three standing by, weapon unloaded and on safe." He said quietly.

"Lane one, standing by." Cora's calm voice sounded in Aeron's ears. He looked to see her standing, the pistol held professionally, barrel to the floor, finger off the trigger. "Weapon unloaded and on safe."

"Lane two." Karen's voice was flat. "Did you _have_ to block the barrel, Miguel? I knew the moment I saw the extra barrel that you had done _something_. But clearing this is going to be a pain in the _butt_."

"Don't bother, Karen." Aeron could hear the amusement in the Miguel's voice, but when he looked the man was not smiling. "It's a teaching tool. A Lato won't fire with a plugged barrel. But it has surprised the heck out of a few people over the years. Did you change the barrel?"

"Of _course_ I changed it." Karen snapped, her ire up. "What kind of an _idiot_-?"

"Karen." Miguel's voice was soft, but held command and Aeron saw Karen jerk out of the corner of his eye. "Calm down."

"Right." Karen said with a gulp. "Lane two, Lato functional, unloaded and on safe."

"All lanes, you may load." Miguel said quietly. Aeron did as instructed, the magazine clicking into the Braton easily. He slid the first box of ammo into it and nodded as the digital readout on the side changed from '0' to '585'. "Call off when charged."

Aeron slid the charging handle on the Braton and nodded as another counter appeared above the main one. This one read '45', the normal magazine load for a Braton. The lower readout changed to '540'.

"Lane 3, charged, on safe." Aeron said, pointing the Braton downrange just to be sure.

"Lane 1, charged, on safe." Aeron heard Cora say.

"Lane 2 is charged and on safe." Karen sounded a bit upset still, but Aeron approved of her control.

"Ready on the right." Aeron heard Miguel say. The Tenno did not respond, knowing it was formality. "Ready on the left." Then came the command they had been waiting for. "Range clear. You may commence firing."

Aeron tracked onto the first target, his thumb finding the safety and clicking it off as the rifle came up in a trained sinuous motion. The first shot was as surprise as always. He fired five rounds as quickly as he could pull the trigger, and then paused as a beep sounded. Cora and Karen continued firing s it was a private transmission to Aeron alone. He safetied his weapon and waited.

"Tenno Aeron..." Miguel's voice was respectful. "Did you just put all _five_ of your rounds through the leftmost target's left _eye_?"

"Yes." Aeron said simply. "Problem?"

"No." Miguel said, bemused. "No problem. Should have known. I must be getting old."

"Hmmm?" Aeron asked, curious.

"Don't tell me you are not a sniper, Tenno Aeron." Miguel said with a snort. "Don't even _try_."

"Haven't done long range work in a long time." Aeron said, neither confirming nor denying. "I did see those sniper rifles in the locker. Could I try one if we have time?"

"I think I am going to _make_ time." Miguel said with a smile in his voice. "Been awhile since I dealt with another true professional. No offense, but most Tenno seem to go for blades."

"Most." Aeron said, still non-committal. "Not all. Long range engagement has it's uses."

"I _do_ like you, Tenno Aeron." Miguel said with a real laugh this time. Then he became professional again. "Continue firing."

Aeron had a small smile on his face as he readied his weapon again and did as instructed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sniper Time**

"Damn..."

Cora cursed softly as both she and Karen stared in awe at the set of holographic targets that shone in front of them. One set was hers, one set Karens, and the third set was Aeron's. Everyone was looking at Aeron's. On his, _every single hole_ was in the middle of the head, even the ones that had been sized to match a target at 200 meters. Aeron just shook his head and focused on cleaning his Braton. Cora looked at him and shook her head.

"You don't think 99% accuracy is good?" She asked incredulous.

They had all finished up their firing and had assembled around a table to clean their weapons and discuss their firing. Until Aeron's targets had appeared with theirs anyway. All still wore their safety glasses, but with no firing, Miguel had loosened the hearing protection decree and all three had the ear covering dangling around their necks.

"It's good. But there is always room for improvement." Aeron said quietly, finishing up his detail cleaning. Luckily modern weapons were virtually self cleaning. Otherwise putting just over 1500 rounds through a weapon would have made a heck of a mess of said weapon. The Braton just needed a little bit of work. Karen and Cora had finished cleaning their pistols before he had finished his rifle, then turned to the targets to analyze.

"I have got a long way to go..." Karen's voice was faint as she stared at the targets. She looked at hers, the holes all over it, some not even scratching the holographic representation of the humanoid that was the main target and winced. "A long, long way."

"Karen." Aeron said in a mild voice. "I am a lot older than you. I have been practicing for a long, long time." She looked at him and he shrugged. "It stands to reason I am going to be better than you at this. You will get better. Miguel knows what he is doing." He promised her.

"I half expected you two to butt heads." Karen said with a smile.

"He is a professional, so am I." Aeron said with a nod. "We likely won't always agree on everything, we are mortal after all. But he has experience that I lack, and I have experience he lacks. So we can work together."

"Well said, Tenno Aeron." Miguel said with a smile as he came from where he had been looking into at locker, a set of long objects in hand. "Care to try some real targets?"

"I would like that." Aeron said quietly. "But don't Cora and Karen have things to do? Matter of fact..." He paused. "Don't I?"

"Sensei, Will and Two are out on some kind of urgent drone hunt." Cora said with a shrug. "All classes are on hold until they get back. My chores are done. Karen?" Karen shook her head and Cora nodded. "Jimmy is stuck in Medical. Alicia and Amelia are the only other ones here and they are busy. Well, and Mari..."

"Probably need to find out what deviltry that girl is getting up to." Miguel said with a sigh. "And I need to talk to her about tampering with ammunition."

"She is doing the best she can." Karen rose to Mari's defense.

"I know that, Karen." Miguel said heavily. "I also know that she was hurt the worst of all of us by the cryo process." Aeron looked askance at him and Miguel frowned. "The thrall devices were not totally insulated against the cold of the cryopods. All of us took brain damage that Alicia, Amelia and Jimmy have been working overtime to heal." Aeron nodded soberly and Miguel continued. "But Karen,... We cut her some slack, but there are limits. We cannot have her acting off. Not in an enclosed environment with others who are vulnerable." Karen looked at him and then at her chair and swallowed heavily. "But don't fret, girl. We will figure something out." Cora nodded emphatically to Miguel's words. The former soldier laid three sniper rifles down on the table and nodded to Aeron. "See what fits you."

Aeron nodded absently, he was scrutinizing the rifles. One was a Vulkar, the standard Grineer long range death dealer. It hit hard and accurately, but didn't have a lot of spare room for ammo and it's recoil was atrocious. The next... Aeron did not wince as he looked at the Lanka although a stab of pain surged through him. A Corpus goon had used a Lanka to kill Fran, his sister in arms. The Lanka was a railgun. It's range and damage were essentially unparalleled, but it took time to charge up each shot. Time that could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield. The pain faded into the white in his brain as he shook his head minutely. The final one...

"Where did you get a Snipetron?" Aeron asked, his voice nearly reverent. "The Corpus stopped making them before I could get one." He looked at Miguel who smiled and nodded permission. Clearance received, Aeron picked up the long rifle and examined it carefully. It had been well maintained, loved even.

"One of the...um... former residents here...collected oddball weapons. That was in his collection."Miguel tactfully omitted the fact that said resident was dead. "He never used it. It just collected dust in a locker."

"That is a shame." Aeron said, his eyes lingering on the scope, the magazine well and then running the length of the barrel. "I hated when the Corpus went to the Lanka. There was no way my clan was ever going to be able to afford the costs to reverse engineer one. I did try one once. The charging time hurts."

"Why _did_ they go to the Lanka?" Cora asked, staring that the long weapon with a mix of awe and envy. "All I knew was one day they were hitting my comrades with electrical energy instead of bullets."

"Basic logistics." Miguel said with a shrug. "If you have a huge personnel base, then making weapons standardized saves a lot of headaches when you have to supply them. Snipetrons were only for very specialized forces even when they were widespread, but still... It was a different ammunition type. They had to produce a lot of different ammunition. I am surprised it took them as long as it did to phase them out."

"Is that like ' Amateurs speak of tactics, professionals speak of logistics'?" Karen asked, her eyes also on the long firearm.

"Yes and no. Both tactics and logistics have their place. Both are equally important." Miguel said as Aeron started slowly field stripping the rifle. "Didn't think you could do that one blindfolded yet. I give you..." He paused in thought and then grinned. "Three hours."

"You are on." Aeron said absently, most of his focus on the rifle as he slid parts out of it carefully. "Actual bet or bragging rights?"

"Let's go with bragging rights." Miguel said a bit sheepishly. "Not a lot of money or need of it here."

"Good point." Aeron said as he slowly started reassembling the rifle. "Did you work on this?"

"No." Miguel said, making a face. "Like I said, it sat in a locker. Such sacrilege." He said, shaking his head. "A fine piece of engineering and it just _sat_."

"Well... With your permission, range master..." Aeron said with a nod. "I won't let it just sit."

"Can we watch?" Cora asked just as Karen said the same thing. They looked at each other and shared a chuckle, but waited for Miguel to speak.

"Aeron? You mind?" Miguel asked carefully.

"No." Aeron said as he finished putting the rifle back together. "Where?"

"Lane 4 is set up for sniping." Miguel said with a smile. "I had the thought you might want something a bit more challenging."

"I will need to zero." Aeron replied.

"Can do. Will you need a spotter?" Miguel asked after a moment. "Or can you solo? I can spot. Haven't done it for a while, but I hear it's like riding a hoverbike. You never forget how."

"I have done both." Aeron admitted. "But it has been a long time." He shook his head. "You spot? You are range master."

"If you are the only one firing, I can handle it." Miguel said with a frown. "But... good point. Karen!" The chair bound woman jerked. "You remember what I taught you about spotting scopes?"

"I do." Karen admitted. "But wouldn't Cora..." She trailed off as he glared at her. "Yes, Range Master Miguel, I do."

"Cora, Locker 3-A, get a level twenty scope and bring it here." Cora dashed to obey Miguel's command as he turned to another nearby locker. "Mounts... Mounts... I know I have a tripod in here somewhere." He mused as he looked through the locker..

"I don't understand." Karen said faintly.

"Snipers usually work in pairs, Karen." Aeron said with a nod. "A shooter and a spotter. Technically, since I am the more experienced shooter, _I_ should be spotting."

"There is no _way_ I can heft that thing." Karen declared, staring at the long and unwieldy looking Snipetron. "Let alone shoot it and pray to hit anything."

"Wanna bet?" Aeron asked, his smile turning sly before vanishing as his mood was eaten by the mess in his head. "Miguel, would you have a mount that works for a sniper rifle in there?"

"Matter of fact... I do." Miguel said with a wide grin. "Would work for a heavy scope or a Snipetron."

"Mind if I zero while you are rigging the mount?"Aeron asked, not moving. He knew better than to do anything on a firing range without permission of the range master.

"Ears!" Miguel commanded, setting his own hearing protection in place. Karen fumbled hers in place while Cora juggled the case she held while she did the same. Aeron slid his over his ears and caught Miguel's next words. "...you can zero on lane two. How many rounds?"

"Five was usual." Aeron said with a nod. "Might need six or seven since I don't know the weapon."

"I highly doubt that. But just in case, here is ten." Miguel extended a magazine to Aeron who took it in one hand and the rifle in the other. "Need a tool?"

"Oh. Yeah." Aeron said a bit sheepishly. "Used to doing this in my warframe, no need to adjust things manually there."

"Those of us who are mere mortals can usually muddle through just fine." Miguel said with a self deprecating tone. He waited until Aeron strode to the lane station and set the rifle down with the barrel carefully facing downrange before holding out a small tool to the Tenno. Aeron walked back and took it.

"Thanks." The Tenno said quietly. "I will be quick." He strode back to the station and paused. "Permission to zero, range master?"

"Granted." Miguel said with smile in his voice that Aeron didn't see because he was focused on the rifle. "Human sized target set at 200 meters. Load and fire at your discretion."

"Roger that." Aeron said with a nod as he took up the rifle and knelt.

He would have preferred to go prone, -maybe even steady the rifle with a mount or something- but the range wasn't currently set up for that. And the Snipetron was good out to 3000 meters, so 200 was a joke. Instead, he laid the rifle on the ledge that separated the station from the range lane itself and steadied it carefully. He loaded the rifle swiftly and efficiently and then took aim and fired at the target that met his sights. He scanned the target with the rifle's scope and nodded. High and right. He corrected the scope with the ease of long practice, then fired again. He did that three times before he was satisfied. Then he checked the weapon, ensuring it was unloaded, and on safe before turning back to see the others ready for him. Karen looked... nervous.

"I don't know about this." Karen said, fingering the large metal brackets that were now fixed to the side of her chair. "Maybe I should just use the scope. That is a big gun."

"It's a rifle, not a gun, Karen." Aeron said before Miguel could. Both shared a wry glance. "And you can do it. With your permission, range master?"

"Ready on four at your discretion." Miguel said with a nod as he moved back to his station.

"I really don't think this is a good idea." Karen said as Aeron picked up the rifle and stepped to lane four.

"One way to find out." Aeron said as he beckoned her close. Cora had the spotting scope case in hand and a small scope hanging around her neck. "Come on, Karen. It won't bite." He gently teased her.

"Just scared I am going to drop it and break it." Karen mumbled as she eased her chair close to the lane and stopped it so the mount faced towards the targets. Aeron clamped the profile onto the mount and nodded to Karen before turning to take the spotting scope from Cora who had come up,. The Grineer withdrew without a sound but her smile was wide.

"Okay, Karen." The male Tenno said quietly. "The rifle is set. Look through the scope and put the central dot on the head of the target that you see."

"Don't I have to lead, or adjust or something?" Karen asked as she did as instructed.

"Yes." Aeron said calmly. "But _my_ job is to tell you how much. You will see small hash marks underneath the dot. Simulated range is one thousand three hundred and six meters. Gravity is negligible. There is no atmospheric distortion, weather or anything else. Raise the rifle until the third hash mark under the center dot is on the target's head. Range master?" He asked when Karen had done as instructed.

"Your discretion." Miguel repeated calmly.

"Okay, Karen, squeeze the trigger, slow and gentle." Aeron said quietly. "It will be a surprise..." Karen gave a squeak as the Snipetron fired. "Just like that." He smiled as he looked through the spotting scope. "And you said you couldn't hit it..."

"I..." Karen stared through her scope, dumbfounded at the half of the holographic target's head which was gone. "How... far...?"

"One thousand, three hundred and six meters. Good shot." Aeron said as he reclaimed the Snipetron and placed the scope on the brackets.

"Good rifle." Karen said, dazed. Then she shook herself. "I am betting you can do better."

"Of course I can, Karen." Aeron's tone was mild. "I have done this for a long time. If you lived and fought as long as I have, you would be just as good, if not better. I am out of practice. Range Master?"

"Ready for a challenge, Tenno Aeron?" Miguel asked in a cocky voice.

"Twenty rounds. Moving pop-ups." Aeron said with a nod. "You are not going to be able to keep up with my shooting, Karen, so don't try. I just want you to see how many you can spot and try to get the ranges. Don't worry about all the other information scrolling along the sides of your vision, just get the targets and ranges. That is the single most important bit of long range shooting, knowing _where_ the targets are and how far _away_ they are. Ready?"

"Yeah." Karen said, her eyes glued to the binocular scope.

"Range master. Reloading. " Aeron said as he reloaded the spent round. Then he raised the rifle but did not aim yet. "Ready. 4 shots remaining."

"Go." Miguel's calm voice came and Aeron had his rifle up before the sound of the word faded.

He tracked a barely seen image and fired, aware that he had hit it, but missed a clean kill shot even as Karen exclaimed. He aimed and fired, then did it again, again and again, then reloaded automatically. While he reloaded, he took note of targets popping up and falling. There was no pattern he could see, so he just fell into mode and serviced targets as he had been taught so long ago. Robotically, mercilessly. Firing and reloading so fast that it seemed that the metronome precise shots never faltered. Then his rifle clicked empty and he was out of ammunition. Twenty rounds. He remembered missing exactly twice. Aeron shook himself out of the combat trance he had been in and nodded to himself. Not too bad for a rusty sniper.

"Holy shi- Sugar..." Miguel quickly corrected himself, his voice dazed. Then the range master's voice was awed. "One shot, one kill indeed. Dang, if we had even a _couple_ like you, we _never_ would have lost a battle."

"I have lost my share of battles." Aeron said quietly as he safetied his rifle and laid it down. " I didn't hit all the targets."

"No." Miguel admitted. "But you hit _almost_ everything you aimed at. Not all clean, but... wow."

"Don't start, sergeant." Aeron heard himself say. "I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like any. I am not perfect." He felt faint suddenly and held the station ledge until he steadied.

"Eighteen hits." Karen said, her voice small. "Sixteen of those headshots. Those would have been instant kills no matter what armor the target was wearing. That was... scary." Then she paused. "Aeron, you okay?"

"I..." Aeron shook his head. "I dunno... I feel... strange." He shook himself. "I am all right. It's just been a long time. Felt good. Need to clean up."

"You are pale." Miguel's voice sounded from nearby. "Don't pass out on me."

"Nope." Aeron took a few deep breaths and nodded slowly. "Takes a lot out of you. But it was good to do it again. Like I said, long time."

"Just for letting me see that..." Miguel said slowly. "I got this. Get your butt to medical, let them check you out."

"Gotta... clean the weapons, sergeant..." Aeron barely recognized his own voice. "I messed 'em, gotta clean 'em." Why was his voice slurring? Why was his vision suddenly dark?

"Aeron, come on..." A gentle hand was on his arm and guiding him. That was wrong, wasn't it? He wasn't sure. Nothing made a lot of sense. "Come on, Aeron. You will make Karen cry if you pass out." Cora. That was her name, wasn't it?

"I am fine..." Aeron protested, but couldn't muster the strength to struggle as the hand guided him on, gently but inexorably. "Just tired..."

"If you can say that without slurring I will..." Her voice trailed off and then she exclaimed in surprise. "Ah, Alicia! Help!" Another hand was on his other arm and both were guiding him.

"I got the call." Alicia's voice was sharp with worry. "What happened?"

"Aeron did something amazing, but I think it took too much out of him. He is dazed and not seeing clearly if at all." Cora's voice was worried, but clear. "He hasn't lost consciousness and he is still coherent. Mostly."

"Come on, Aeron." Alicia said softly. "Back to Medical."

"Gotta...clean up..." Aeron protested, but the arms that guided him were relentless and he relaxed as he realized they were not going to let him do anything but what they ordered.

"What you 'gotta' do, Aeron..." Alicia said sourly. "...is lie down and let us figure out what is wrong in your head. Or I _will_ sedate you stubborn Tenno hide. Clear?"

"Clear." Aeron said with a grimace.

"Go on, Cora." Alicia said kindly. "I got him. Wait...? What did he do?"

"It was amazing, Alicia." Cora almost gushed. "You need to see the video when Miguel clears it. Eighteen hits out of twenty shots fired from a sniper rifle at a simulated range of a thousand meters and more. Pop up targets. In maybe two minutes."

"A thousand meters?" Alicia said softly. "Outside of a warframe?" She asked dubiously.

"Focused on movement..." Aeron said as clearly as he could. "Used the scope on wide field view. Not hard..."

"For _you_." Alicia said with force. "Come on, Aeron. Let's get you back so we can figure this out." Aeron grumbled but did not resist. Fighting the docs didn't help.


	7. Chapter 7

**Anomalies**

Aeron came awake suddenly, aware of something different. Alicia had brought him back to Medical and put him in a bed with orders to 'rest'. She had checked his eyes and reassured him that they were fine, he was just exhausted. He didn't think she had slipped him anything, but wasn't going to put it past the sneaky medic. He had collapsed onto the bed and been out like a light. But now... Something had changed, but he wasn't sure what. Then he tried to move and couldn't. He looked down and he was restrained to the bed.

"Great." Aeron said sourly, looking around. "Who did I scare?" Why would Alicia nave restrained him? What did he do?

"Volt." The soft female voice was worried. "You are awake."

"Volt?" Aeron asked slowly. "Wha-?" He looked up to see a female wearing a Saryn warframe sitting nearby. It was a Saryn, but... different. It had gold in places and odd gold hoops on her head. "What is going on?"

"You don't remember?" The female Tenno asked sadly. "You went berserk. You were firing in every direction. Excalibur had to knock you out, or you might have hurt us. As it was, you _hit_ a few of us."

"Friendly fire? But... I don't understand. I don't know you, do I?" Aeron asked slowly. "Who _are_ you?"

"You don't remember _me_?" The Saryn asked, dumbfounded. "Aw crap. What _do_ you remember?" She asked carefully.

"I had tired myself out." Aeron said slowly. "I was... in Medical... They told me to get some sleep. This..." He tried the restraints and they didn't budge.

"Great, delusions... Don't make me sedate you, brother." The Saryn said in a tone one step removed from tears. "I will."

"Look,..." Aeron said slowly. "I don't know what is going on here. My name is Aeron. Not Volt. I wear a Volt Warframe. That is not my _name_."

"You are not making any sense, brother." The Saryn said quietly. "You obviously need more rest." She reached down and came up with an old style syringe. "A little stick and everything will be better."

"Don't you touch me with that!" Aeron said sharply, struggling to stay away from the needle. He jerked away from her as she came close. "Stay away!" He felt pain as his flesh tore on the restraints, but he was beyond caring. He tensed up every muscle.

"Brother, please..." The Saryn begged. "I am begging you, for the love we shared. Let us help you! Just relax." She came closer but Aeron had seen enough, no hope of escape from whatever this was. He focused his mind on oblivion.

"Saryn! Back off! He is trying to suicide!" Another voice, this one male, sounded and the Saryn jumped back. "Idiot boy! Don't do that! We are not your enemies!" A Frost Prime warframe stepped into view, his hand outstretched. "Volt, please... Don't. I don't know what is going on in your head, but we can help. We are your family."

"Volt, please!" Saryn sounded in tears. "Frost! He won't hear us! What do we do?"

"My family is dead." Aeron said softly as he slumped in place. He focused on his heart and darkness crowded around him. Darkness that was suddenly shattered by the crackle of electricity.

"Stand clear!" Someone shouted and agonizing pain arced through Aeron's chest. "That's it, his heart is going again. Dose him! Fast!" Aeron tried to struggle, but many hands held him and a stick in his arm had him falling.

**Later**

When Aeron could see again, he found himself lying on the floor in a small room. No, a cell. It had no obvious door. The walls were padded. But it was the straitjacket that held him that focused his ire. He had to be under observation and he didn't care.

"I don't care _who_ you people are." Aeron said slowly and carefully. "When I get out of this, you are all dead. You hear me? _Dead!_" The white rose in his mind and he snarled, but it was inexorable and he found himself relaxing against his will. Something clicked nearby and a narrow hole appeared in the padding.

"You ready to talk?" The Frost Prime from before asked from the slot in the wall. "Or are you just going to be a jerk and scream some more?"

"I don't talk to dead people." Aeron said with a snarl and lay back against the wall.

"Volt, please. Saryn is despondent." The Frost said heavily. "She loves you although I have no idea _why_ at the moment, the way you are treating her."

"My name is Aeron." The restrained man said sharply. "And I have nothing to say to my captors." He tried to focus on oblivion as before, but something clicked and he couldn't.

"Look. We are not going to let you suicide. The projector will keep you from focusing enough." The Frost said just as sharply. "You name wasn't Aeron _before_ you gave it up, when you assumed the mantle, took the warframe." He sighed. "I have no idea where you are getting this delusion from. You are Volt, of the Tenno."

"I am Aeron of the Tenno." Aeron said quietly. "And I do not know you. You will not hold me forever."

"Great." The Frost said with a snarl. "Of all the stubborn, _obstinate_..." A murmur sounded and the Frost paused. "Sir... I..."

"Your dislike of him is shading your view. Let me talk to him." This voice was older, more experienced. "Go get something to eat, Frost."

"Yes sir." The Frost said slowly, before turning a back to look at Aeron. "You do anything more dishonorable and I will carve your heart out with a dull knife. And _enjoy_ it."

"Frost!" The older voice snapped and the Frost vanished from the slot. Aeron stiffened as a door opened on the wall and a Tenno wearing an odd warframe stepped into the room. It was an Excalibur, but it wasn't. And was that a glaive on the man's forearm? He bore no other obvious weapons. The older Tenno shook his head. "Well, this is a mess."

"Come to gloat or kill?" Aeron asked sourly.

"Neither." The other Tenno shut the door and sat across the room from Aeron. Then he shook his armored head. "Talk only. What did you mean, when you said your name was Aeron? All of the kin here gave up their names when they took up their warframes. It was part of the ritual, a ceremonial severing with their pasts. A new beginning."

"My name _is_ Aeron." Aeron said in a slow tone as if her were dealing with a not quite bright child. "Not Volt."

"Okay... Aeron..." The other Tenno said slowly. "Do you know where you are?"

"I am in a padded cell." Aeron said in a tone that said 'get on with it' quite clearly. "Where _else_ would I be?"

"Fair enough." The man said with a ghost of a chuckle. "Do you know where the cell is?"

"No clue." Aeron said with a snap. "I fell asleep in a medical facility in a dojo and woke up here. Wherever the hell here is. _If_ I am still where I woke up first, which I don't know."

"Which dojo?" The man asked calmly.

"If you don't know then I am not giving up secrets." Aeron said with a snarl.

"Look, _Aeron_..."T he man emphasized the name. "You are not telling us anything except that _you_ believe you are not who _we_ believe you are. That doesn't help matters and your antagonism isn't helping either. Calm down, boy." He said sharply, then the other Tenno paused as Aeron felt rage come, but it was immediately subsumed by the white. "What the hell...?" The man demanded. "What was _that_?"

"What was what?" Aeron replied, bouyed by the numbness in his mind.

"That was _not_ normal." The older Tenno said, his posture intent. "Whatever it was. Your vitals spiked when you got mad. Then you... flatlined... That is not possible. You would be dead. And since you are not..."

"Go to hell." Aeron said laying back against the wall.

"All right." The old Tenno said softly. "The hard way. Nyx..." Aeron went stiff as the door opened again and a Nyx warframe entered the cell. It too, was odd. Like the Saryn from before, it had gold in strange places and was not like the Nyx warframes that Aeron had seen and worked with.

"I don't like this, Master." The female Tenno said softly, worried. "Using my powers on one of our kin? It feels...wrong."

"I know, Nyx." The older Tenno said sadly. "But please. We need to know what is going on in his head."

"All right..." The Nyx said as she looked at Aeron. "Please relax, brother. I won't hurt you. "Aeron focused his mind, trying to summon every ounce of control he had to keep her from reading his mind, but the white overrode it all. She stared at him and then she gave a gasp as she shook her head as if to shake something off it. Or out of it. "My god... That.. That _isn't_ Volt! It... Master! There is something in his mind! Something... white..." She gave a short, shrill scream and collapsed.

"Nyx!" The older Tenno jumped to his feet and caught her as she fell. "What did you _do_ to her?" He demanded of Aeron as he cradled the limp form.

"Me?" Aeron demanded, just as irate. "_I_ am lying here all trussed up. _You_ told her to violate my mind." He rolled upright, ready to defend himself as best he could as the older Tenno laid the unconscious Nyx down and rose, his glaive coming to hand.

"_What_ are you?" The old Tenno demanded. "If you are not Volt, who or what are you?"

"Go ahead, hurt me!" Aeron snapped right back. "Be a good little bully! Anything you do, I have taken worse!"

"No..." The gasped word came from the Nyx and stopped both males in place. "Master... don't... He _is_ Tenno, Master. But not.. of us... Not of... our time..." She collapsed back, limp.

"Not of our...?" The older Tenno froze. "No bloody way." He was obviously staring at Aeron now and his glaive hung forgotten in hand. "From the future?" He asked, incredulous.

"How the _hell_ would _I_ know?" Aeron demanded. "I just woke up here and people are telling me I am someone I am not! Then they want to drug me and restrain me and interrogate me. Well, to hell with all of you!" The white came again and he sank back.

"Look... Okay, we screwed up." The old Tenno said quietly as he sheathed his glaive. "We have been...upset..." He gave a deep sigh and sank back into a sitting position beside the still Nyx. "It hasn't been easy, what we are trying to do. I didn't have a choice about what happened to me. It was live or die once I was infected. All the others volunteered. But in the end, they are still kids... My kids... Adopted, but mine." His hand came down to stroke the Nyx's armored forehead. "We had a dream, one that many don't share. There are a lot of people, on a lot of sides, who think that world unity is a pipe dream. That we should just stay the way we are. Despoil the planet for ourselves and forget about the future."

"What planet?" Aeron asked after a moment. The man froze, staring at him.

"Earth..." The older Tenno said slowly, as if dazed. He shook himself. "I went through an ordeal and was granted extra human abilities as a result. It took decades of research to duplicate the effects safely. To build the warframes and find the right people to wear them, even if they do insist on calling themselves 'Tenno'. Without the others, I wouldn't have a chance of creating my dream. Of making Orokin a reality." Aeron went completely still at that and the older Tenno nodded. "You know the word."

"I don't believe this." Aeron said slowly. "I can't."

"I..." The old Tenno would have spoken further, but the female on the floor groaned. "Nyx?" He asked gently, his hand taking hold of her arm.

"No, Master Haydon." The Nyx said slowly. "You mustn't ask. Anything we ask can change what must be for Aeron to exist. I understand now..." She rolled to her knees and looked from Aeron who had gone still again at that name. "For us this is not a dream, Aeron. But for you, it _is_."

"I don't understand." Aeron said, not moving. Haydon? It couldn't be... Saryn? Frost? Nyx? Gold? Called by the warframes and not by **name**? _Oh dear...Primes. __**All **__of them Primes._

"Your body is asleep. You are dreaming." Nyx, _the_ Nyx -the _first_ one- said gently. "I only touched your mind, Aeron of the Tenno. Enough to see that before the defense in it overwhelmed me. I apologize for the discourtesy, brother." She bowed her head in apology.

"Apology accepted but not needed, sister. You were ordered." Aeron said, bemused by this rapid turn of events. "Master Haydon?" He asked, awe coming but it was then eaten by the white. "Haydon _Tenno_?"

"Yes, Aeron, that is my name." The older Tenno said slowly. "Nyx? I have _so_ many questions..." He nearly begged.

"Master, we _can't_." Nyx said sadly. "What little I felt is... bad. Only impressions, feelings. We would want to change it. And we _can't_."

"Says _you_." Haydon Tenno said sharply, but then sighed. "Dang. You are right, girl. That is why you got the warframe you did. Mind Control for the most ethical person I have ever met, even if it _is_ infuriating at times."

"You all are the first..." Aeron said slowly. "The First Tenno..." He was dazed, but not by the white this time.

"Master Haydon put out a call. We answered." Nyx said gently, scooting so she was sitting beside Aeron, her hand coming down to undo the clasps on his straitjacket. "I am sorry, Aeron. We didn't understand. Please don't fight. We can help, put you back where you belong."

"I..." Aeron remained still when the straps fell loose. "I am not safe, Ma'am."

"Don't call me Ma'am." Nyx said with a grin in her voice. "I work for a living." Aeron surprised himself with a chuckle as Haydon chuckled as well at her wry tone. "Master, we will need to summon a lot of power to send Aeron back to himself. I don't think if any of us could do it alone, not even Nova."

"I will go explain it to them." Haydon said soberly. "I don't expect everyone to like it, but getting Volt back would be good." Aeron coughed and Haydon paused. "Yes?"

"If he did go berserk, be careful." Aeron said after a second. "He may not have target control when he comes back."

"Good point." Haydon said, his voice sick. "Even out of his warframe, he was always dangerous. Crazy Asatru."

"What?" Aeron asked curiously.

"Never mind." Haydon said with a sigh. "Not important now. Do I have your word to cooperate, Aeron of the Tenno? I will not leave Nyx alone with you otherwise."

"Sword and soul, blood and bone." Aeron said calmly, only to see both of the others recoil. "I swear not to harm any here as long as I am not attacked."

"You... That..." Nyx swallowed heavily. "Master, go." She commanded. Aeron opened his mouth and she hushed him. "Aeron, no. Say no more! Please!" She begged him. Haydon Tenno rose, bowed to Aeron and left the cell. "You are crazy, quoting _them_? Of all the..." Then she froze. "Wait..."

"Maybe you should take your own advice, Ma'am, er... Nyx..." Aeron said softly.

"What little I felt will bother me until the day I pass from this existence to the next." Nyx said soberly. "Our future is war and death." She slumped, abject. "Our great dream... dust and ashes." Aeron was moved to speak.

"Nyx... Ancient legends tell of a bird of surpassing beauty called a Phoenix." Aeron said slowly. Nyx stiffened looking at him. "Every year, it would find a sheltered spot and burst into flame. The flames consumed it utterly. But from the ashes came a new bird, like the old one in every way. The phoenix obtained new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor." Nyx was shaking her head, but Aeron was smiling gently."I do not know if Orokin is a phoenix, but where there is life, Sister Nyx, there is hope. And there _is_ life. Even in my darkness, there is life."

"You shame me, brother." Nyx said, laying her head down on his shoulder. "You are so strong. So hurt and so strong. I... I will remember."

"Every strength has limits." Aeron said sadly. "I saw two brothers and a sister, my small clan, slaughtered in front of me. I could do nothing." Nyx gave a small cry and hugged him tight. "I am sorry I have been a problem for you. But Nyx, this is important... If Volt shares my...my affliction... This white..."

"It is...wrong... In your head..." Nyx said, a hand slowly touching his forehead and then withdrawing as if burned. "Just the feeling is...wrong. Let's get that straitjacket off you...You are not insane."

"Leave it on." Aeron said and Nyx stared at him. "The white doesn't hurt." Aeron said with a shake of his head. "But that makes it worse in some ways. If your brother shares this, he may lack target control. The straitjacket may help. Or at least slow him down so you can get a clear shot." Nyx froze, her arms still around the sitting Tenno. "Nyx..."

"I couldn't..." Nyx said slowly. "I couldn't _kill him!_ I..." She broke off as a gasp sounded from the door which was still open. The Saryn from before stood there, her posture stiff.

"Nyx?" _The_ Saryn, the first - asked, worried.

"Saryn, I need you to meet someone." Nyx said gently as she retreated a bit. "This is Aeron of the Tenno. Somehow he transferred into Volt's body."

"Ma'am." Aeron said, inclining his head politely. "I apologize for my earlier words. I was ...distressed."

"As are we all." Saryn said softly. "Do you know if Volt is...? I mean..." She shook herself.

"All I know is what happened to me." Aeron said, his voice quiet. "But if he does share the problem inside my skull... Then he is dangerous, Ma'am."

"He always was." Saryn said sadly. "But he wouldn't attack _me_!" Her words lacked conviction however.

"Ma'am, if he does love you, then if he comes back to himself standing over dead kin, over _your_ corpse..." Aeron said softly and both female Tenno recoiled a bit. "If he is anything like me, then he wouldn't want that. He would fight to the death to keep it from happening."

"Out of his warframe, we can disable him without killing him, Saryn." Nyx reassured the other female. "But what then? If he _has_ lost it..."

"I can help him!" Saryn pleaded. "He loves me!"

"I know." Nyx said, rising to go to her sister's side. "Easy, Saryn. It may not come to that."

"Ma'am... Saryn..." Aeron said softly and both females looked at him. He didn't move. "What would _he_ want? If he lost it? Became a threat to kin?" Saryn crumpled and Nyx caught her. "Don't act precipitously, but...do not hesitate to act either." Saryn extricated herself from Nyx and moved to kneel beside Aeron. "He wouldn't want to hurt you."

"You are a good man, Aeron of the Tenno." Saryn said softly. "A good brother."

"No, I am not." Aeron disagreed softly. "Good men don't do what I do. Good men don't deal death from afar, from hiding. Good men don't _enjoy_ doing that."

"Oh..." Saryn's voice held awe and sorrow in equal measure. "Oh, brother..." She was crying as she embraced him. " Do you trust me, Aeron of the Tenno?" She asked after a moment. He nodded silent. "I need to give you something. The wards around the main chamber will reject your passing, cause irreparable tissue damage if you are not in a warframe or properly prepared. What I will give you will make you fuzzy. It will not knock you out, but it _will_ make everything blurry and indistinct. May I give it to you?" She asked. In answer, Aeron held out his shoulder and she nodded. "So like my love, and so unlike..." Aeron looked away as she injected him. It took effect immediately and he was weaving.

"Let's get you home, Aeron." Nyx said as she and Saryn helped Aeron to stand.

The two females led him through alls that were oddly familiar. Gold, white and all clean and fresh. Brand spanking new. They led him to a large circular chamber in which knelt Tenno in warframes, many Tenno. He couldn't tell how many through the fog of whatever Saryn had given him, but at least two dozen. All in gold chased warframes. All Primes. He let Saryn and Nyx lead him to the center of the circle and assist him into a kneeling position. He knelt and waited as Saryn and Nyx both assumed kneeling positions around the circle. A pulse of power erupted around him and...

* * *

Aeron woke, aware of the sounds of medical equipment.

"You have a good nap?" Alicia asked as she looked up from her computer and smiled at him. He nodded. "You thrashed a bit. Bad dream?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't remember." Aeron said trying to bring his dream to mind. But it faded as he tried. A hint of gold... But then it was gone. "How long was I out?"

"Long enough." Alicia said soberly. "We have some answers."

"From your tone, I am not going to like it, am I?" Aeron said, sinking back onto the bed.

"No, you are not." Alicia said with a sigh as she hit a control. "Okay... Use the facilities. We talk to Sensei and Amelia in twenty minutes."

"Amelia _and_ Sensei?" Aeron said softly as he swung his legs off the bed. "I have a bad feeling about this..."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Hard Way**

Aeron followed Alicia into one of the many small room that the dojo boasted for solitary meditations. He was calm, not that the white would let him be any other way. Sensei Karl stood inside, out of his warframe and Amelia stood near him, they had obviously been talking quietly before Alicia and Aeron entered. There was no furniture, so Aeron followed Alicia to one wall and stood beside her, waiting. He didn't have to wait long.

"Aeron?" Sensei asked quietly. "You okay?"

"Better." Aeron admitted. "Don't know what happened. I haven't been that exhausted in a long time."

"You were not in your warframe, Aeron. Your warframe would have buffered you, protected you from depleting so many vital resources so quickly." Amelia said quietly. "If you had been wearing it, you wouldn't have had any problems." Aeron nodded. That made sense. "The good news is that with Sensei's help, Alicia and I have managed to make sense of our data."

"And the bad news?" Aeron asked when she did not continue. Amelia looked at Sensei and he sighed.

"Aeron, you are not berserk." Sensei said softly. "If you were, it would be a fairly simple thing to fix, either with therapy of some kind or drugs. Time consuming and fraught with perils, but fairly simple. You are not."

"Then what is this?" Aeron asked slowly, trying to stay unemotional.

"You are like me, Aeron." Karl said gently. "The opposite of berserk." Aeron felt his eyes go wide and Sensei nodded. "I learned how to control myself because it was part and parcel to the Way I studied, Bushido. You learned control because of your unique talents that morphed into a very useful skill set." Aeron was shaking his head and Sensei raised a hand. "Hear me out?" He pleaded.

"Okay." Aeron said weakly. Alicia laid a hand on his arm and he took comfort from that.

"Amelia and Alicia did a lot of scans. Your eyes are sharper than normal Tenno." Sensei said quietly. "Your hearing, likewise. Your hand eye coordination is enough to make a Loki weep in envy. You have the patience of a rock, or the set of scans that Alicia and Amelia did on you would have driven you bonkers. You lay on that bed for almost five _hours_, Aeron. Without moving so much as a muscle." Aeron went still and Alicia gave his arm a squeeze.

"I..." Aeron shook himself. "I dozed. I don't see what this has to do with this white..."

"Snipers are in control at all times, Aeron." Sensei said calmly. "They _have_ to be. In control of themselves and in control of their environments. Snipers are precision instruments. You were a sniper during the War. A reconnaissance and single target elimination specialist. Stealth was your primary weapon." Aeron was shaking his head again, but Sensei continued. "I got permission to look at the records that we have of you, Aeron." Now his voice turned kind. "Why did you join the clan you did? Any would have been happy to have you."

"I..." Aeron shook his head. "No..." He recoiled away from Alicia. "No! It is going to go red!"

"No, it's not." Sensei said softly. "I shouldn't have told you that. You are not a berserker, Aeron. You did not go berserk when all of your kin died. You went cold. You reverted. To what you had been, before. The white was what I said, a mental bandage."

"No!" Aeron shouted. The white rose up to subsume his grief and fear. "No..." He begged, slamming into the wall as he backed away from Sensei. Amelia and Alicia did not move.

"Aeron, listen to me." Sensei said in an iron voice. "You are not a monster. You have had to do monstrous thing, but you are not a monster. You are a soldier."

"_I am a murderer!_" Aeron screamed, then clutched his head as the white rose up and slammed into him with thunderous force.

"No, you are not." Sensei snapped. "Aeron. Look at me." Command sang in the other Tenno's voice and Aeron found his eyes meeting Karl's. "Who told you that?"

"No..." Aeron begged, backing up again. But this time, he wedged into a corner. "No..."

"Sensei..." Amelia's face was white. "It's too much, too soon..."

"I know." Sensei said quietly. "But I don't have a choice. I have to tell the Elders something or they will order me to turn Aeron over to them for 'review' by the end of the day. You know what they will find." Both Amelia and Alicia hissed at that and Sensei nodded. "I won't do that to you, Aeron. You are not insane."

"Yes, I am." Aeron said quickly, nearly babbling. "Yes, I am. Put me down. Make it quick!" Sensei ignored his pleas.

"Who told you that you were a murderer, Aeron?" Sensei asked implacably as he stepped forward. "You were a soldier. You fought enemies. You shot and killed _enemies_. You struck from ambush but it was _war_, Aeron. There is no _fair_ in war. There is no _nice_ in war. _Who_ told you that?" He demanded. Aeron suddenly wilted, his legs giving out beneath him. He sat down, his back to the wall, shaking his head. Sensei's voice turned gentle. "Aeron...Who?"

"Fran." Aeron said in a monotone.

"Your sister _Fran_ said you were a _murderer_?" Alicia blurted out and then flushed as Sensei looked at her. "That makes no sense. She was Tenno! She _had_ to know better."

"She gave you that staff." Sensei said, his voice very gentle now. "Made you fight in close quarters instead of at range. Why?"

"She... She..." Aeron curled up on himself and Alicia, glaring at Sensei, went to kneel beside him.

"Aeron." The healer Tenno said sadly. "Oh, Aeron...I can guess." She pulled him close and hugged him tight. "She tried to change who and what you are." Alicia said sadly. "Because you disturbed her."

"She said I scared her." Aeron said quietly. "That I needed to change. I tried, Alicia... I really did..." He said, tears falling. "I did."

"What an idiotic witch." Alicia said with a snarl. "I don't like speaking ill of the dead, but... Geez, what an idiotic _witch_!" The healer said with a snarl as she hugged Aeron again. "You are who you are, Aeron. Never denigrate yourself or try to change to meet other's expectations. The only person you need to live up to, is _you_." She held Aeron as he broke down and cried, crooning at him softly. "It's okay, Aeron, it's okay."

"I wish I had time for you to recover fully, Aeron." Sensei said into the silence that fell as Aeron's sobs tapered off. "But I don't. The Elders are demanding that you be 'reviewed'."

"Sensei!" Amelia snapped. "He is _not_ recovered! There is no _way_ he would pass a psychological review in this state. They would lock him up in an electronic limbo for the rest of his _life_ for something that isn't his fault." Outrage poured from the doctor.

"I know." Sensei replied calmly. "But with Serene's...escapades and everything, they are nervous. We cannot explain his problem in any way that they would understand either, Amelia." She sputtered a bit and he shook his head. "They are not medical people or warriors, Amelia. They don't understand how the brain works, especially the odd ways that Warrior brains tend to get rewired after so long in combat. They see an unstable Tenno and will react accordingly."

"Then I will _make_ them understand." Amelia said fiercely.

"Amelia..." Sensei said mildly. "Getting yourself tossed into _another_ cell won't help anyone."

"We can't just let them _take_ him!" Amelia said sharply. "He _isn't_ insane!"

"No, but we can't prove that in any way they would understand." Sensei said with a sigh. "Proving a negative is always a very hard proposition. But... We do have options...Aeron..." He said gently. "I am not going to kill you and I not going to let you suicide." Aeron gave a small cry and burrowed into Alicia's arms. She let him. "As I see it, there are three choices here, only two of which I will countenance. The Elders can go hang. They are not getting you."

"Sensei... Give him time..." Alicia said sadly, holding Aeron's sobbing form.

"I can't." Sensei said heavily. "I hate this job sometimes. I really do. Aeron is a good Tenno that someone has tried their best to destroy out of ignorance and fear. Aeron..." He said gently. "The white is not blocking you now. Not if you are crying."

"What?" Aeron asked, looking up at Sensei, then down at Alicia who was still holding him. "But... I..."

"What you did, Aeron, is tap into something unwittingly." Sensei said with a smile. "You never studied combat psychology, did you?"

"No." Aeron said, baffled. "Why?"

"There have been reams of papers written about human psychology and it's reaction to combat situations." Sensei said with a nod. "Too many for any sane person to sift through. But... After I dealt with it, I studied it. I was curious. The thing is, Tenno are not human. We evolved from them, yes. But we are not."

"I beg to differ." Amelia said sharply. "The fact that I could bear Sara says otherwise."

"Okay, sheesh..." Sensei rolled his eyes and Aeron surprised himself with a chuckle at the other male's wry tone. "You see what I have to put up with, Aeron? Luckily she is good at what she does or I would have to hurt her."

"Two might have something to say about that." Amelia said primly.

"She might." Sensei agreed equably. "Then again, she might _help _if you irritate _her_ enough." Amelia suddenly looked a lot less confident. "Anyway... Aeron... Two options."

"I don't understand." Aeron said slowly. "The Elders are demanding me. You have to give me to them." Alicia snarled, a mama bear sound.

"No, I don't." Sensei disagreed calmly. "For good reasons. Not the least of which is that Alicia and Amelia know where I sleep." At that, Aeron actually laughed. It was a soggy laugh, but a laugh. "Better?" Sensei asked, his tone gentle.

"Yeah." Aeron said softly, then hugged Alicia back. "I tried to fit in. Alicia. I really did. I... I couldn't... I tried so _hard_..."

"It wasn't who you were -are-, Aeron." Alicia said gently as she rose and helped him to his feet. "Yes, you are scary. But I don't care." She said as she released him and stepped a bit away. "You are cute, but I am taken."

"You are not my type, Alicia." Aeron said quietly. "At least...before... Now? I dunno."

"None of our business as long as it doesn't impact the clan." Sensei said as the others stiffened. "It won't, will it?" He said sharply to Aeron who nodded. Both the females relaxed.

"No." Aeron promised. "Never did before. I won't let it now." He paused. "But... If the Elders demand me, I am clanless. You have to..." He broke off, comprehension dawning. "Wait a sec..."

"Yes, Aeron." Sensei said softly. "I want to offer you a place in _our_ clan. Then the Elders can take a running jump out an airlock because you will be _our_ responsibility.."

"You would have to show that I am under control." Aeron said, thinking hard. "What options did you mean?"

"The first is the easiest." Sensei said slowly. "We could use a ranged combat instructor, arsenal supervisor and range master. You won't need a warframe for that. Miguel is good, very good, but he is also our head fabricator, engineer and general go-fer when things break. We are running him ragged and it needs to stop."

"Teaching?" Aeron wasn't sure about this. "I... I dunno. I wouldn't be able to leave, would I?"

"Probably not." Sensei agreed. "But, why would you? Where would you go? I am not going to let you charge overwhelming odds, go out in a blaze of glory, Aeron. That is suicide just as surely as eating a bullet is." Amelia gagged a bit at that, but Alicia nodded. "I won't allow it." Sensei said with a glower.

"Worth a try." Aeron bowed his head with a sigh. "And option two?"

"Ah, yes, the hard way. Almost all of the Tenno in the clan currently are close combat specialists." Sensei said with a nod. "Two is really the only ranged or stealth specialty Tenno here at the moment." Alicia nodded, silent. "I am looking at options, a few small clans are interested in allying with us at the very least, but that does currently leave a hole in our lineup. A hole you would plug neatly."

"You want me to be a sniper again?" Aeron asked, bewildered. "What about the white?"

"Is it still there?" Sensei asked slowly. Aeron froze and Sensei nodded. "Well?"

"It is, but... back a ways..." Aeron chose his words carefully, thinking on what he felt. "I can... I can feel, but... It's...muted..." He smiled. "I can... I can feel... I am sad. I... Happy and... Angry. I can feel again." He stared at Karl. "How?"

"What you did, Aeron..." Sensei said quietly. "...is tap a very rarely used part of the mind. I didn't know much about it either when you came here. I have talked with Amelia and Alicia quite a bit since then. What we think happened to me, so long ago, and to you, on the Corpus ship, was that you needed to be clear headed. Part of you wanted to sit in a corner and weep. But the rest of you knew you couldn't. So... You divided."

"Divided?" Aeron asked slowly. "Like Serene and Two? I heard a bit about that. We watched when she spared the doc who shot her. Gutsy move. My mind spilt in two?" Sensei looked at Amelia who shook her head.

"No, Aeron, you didn't split." Amelia said gently. "There was no cognitive dissonance." Aeron stared at her and she sighed. "I am trying to make it as clear as I can."

"About as clear as mud." Alicia said with a grin. But then it faded."Aeron, what happened was that you needed time, and you didn't get it. You were attacked again before you could recover your equilibrium." She took a deep breath. "This put you into a trance like state. You did rage, but you were not berserk. there is a difference. You were in control. And your goal was to leave, not slaughter everything on the ship. You did."

"It's still here." Aeron said slowly, touching his forehead with a slow, careful finger. "I... It's still here..." He was nearly begging.

"Aeron..." Sensei said softly. "We don't know if it is going to go away." Aeron swallowed heavily. "I moved past it, but I don't know if _you_ can. Nothing against you, but you are not me. You do not have the same experiences, the same training. We do not know if you are going to be able to move beyond it."

"Then I am a threat." Aeron said slowly, arms falling to his sides. "I..."

"Aeron." Sensei said slowly. "I am a threat. So is Alicia . Heck, so is _Amelia_." He waved at Amelia looked upset for a moment, but then sighed and nodded. "Every one of us could potentially be a threat. Are we?"

"I... I don't know." Aeron admitted.

"Potentially, yes, Aeron." Sensei said with a nod. "All of us are threats. You are no different from any of the others in that regard. You have different skills, a different way of looking at things. But you are a brother. One I would be honored to have join us."

"I don't follow Bushido..." Aeron said weakly.

"Ask me if I care, Aeron." Sensei said calmly. "The answer is no. We can use you. And we would."

"I... I need to think about this..." Aeron shook his head.

"There is no time, Aeron." Sensei said softly. "If you...cannot choose us, I will have no choice but to do what the Elders are demanding. I don't want to. If you choose option one, we can keep you here, use you. If you decide later to leave, we can reassess. No one in our clan is bound to it. If they decide to leave, they can."

"And if I choose option two?" Aeron asked slowly. "Would you rig me with a tracker? Explosives or something?"

"No." Sensei said calmly. "But you would never be alone."

"Sensei... I..." Aeron shook his head. "That is not safe for whoever you send with me."

"I don't remember the word 'safe' anywhere in our job description, Aeron. Do you, Alicia?" Sensei asked the healer. She shook her head, her face a mask. "What do you want, Aeron?" Sensei said quietly. Aeron bowed his head and then shook it.

"I want to fight, Sensei." Aeron said softly. "I want to do my part." When his head came up, his eyes were clear and his gaze steady. "If you have need of a sniper, I am your Tenno. Brother to brother..." He bowed his head again. "Yours in life and death."

"Brother to brother..." Sensei said with as smile. "Yours in life and death."

"Sister to brother." Alicia said, stepping close to Aeron, and taking his hand in both of hers. "Yours in life and death."

"Brother to sister." Aeron replied evenly. "Yours in life and death." He took a deep breath, gave Alicia's hand a squeeze and nodded to the other male Tenno. "Command me, Clan Leader."

"We have been refitting your warframe, just in case..." Sensei said with a nod. "Oh, and Aeron?" Aeron looked at him and Sensei smiled. "You were right, that Snipetron shouldn't just sit. It's yours."

"Thanks."Aeron said with a smile of his own. "I will prove myself worthy of it."

"I know you will, brother." Sensei said with a feral smile that Alicia and Aeron shared. "I know you will."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sniper Work**

"Eyes on." Aeron said quietly as he scrutinized the area through the scope of his Snipetron.

Miguel had done wonders. The normally responsive weapon was almost as much a part of Aeron now as his warframe was. It was...exhilarating, but he pushed that aside. He had a mission. His spotter took up position, prone at his side and whistled softly.

"How many do you think?" Two asked quietly, careful to keep her movements small and furtive.

Aeron scanned the area visually, his scope moving with glacial slowness as he took a rough count. Beneath the pair of Tenno was laid out a Corpus spaceport. Not the busiest on any of the habitats around the moon of Europa. Indeed, it was tiny by Corpus standards. The Tenno operatives were currently ensconced atop a towering building, hiding amongst a set of defunct communication antennae. Even the sophisticated scanners that the Corpus boasted would have difficulty picking up a pair of warframes from amongst the massive piles of junk, and they were well over a kilometer from the closest visible Corpus troops. Not that distance alone was much protection against Corpus as many Tenno had discovered to their chagrin.

"A pair of Hyenas patrolling the perimeter..." Aeron said slowly. "A squad of troops roving on patrols as well. That building..." He indicated one with a highlight that showed on her HUD. "...is almost certainly the security post from all the infrared signatures inside. At least one more platoon of troops in there. MOA fabricators all over as well."

"Two Hyenas? Tight security." Two said quietly.

"Yeah." Aeron agreed. "That bothers me too. Do they expect an attack?"

"Considering what they are bringing in, I would say 'yes'." Two said with a sigh. "Any sign of the ship yet?"

"No." Aeron shook his head. "None of the ships in sight are cargo lifters. Fighters, personnel shuttles, no cargo lifters. If the Lotus' information is correct, the ship will land here for shipment to the main base and the brainwashing centers." His voice was flat now.

"You okay?" Two asked. Aeron had lots of reasons to hate Corpus.

"Coping. Better with a mission, a clear line of sight and a full magazine." Aeron said with a shrug. "No sign of the others?"

"The Lotus would signal if there was a problem." Two reassured the sniper. "Will and Alicia are good at sneaking, if not quite as good as you and me. Sensei is also remarkably quiet at times. Much more so than most Rhinos I have worked with."

"Comes from being alone a lot." Aeron said with a nod. "You meet Ric?"

"In passing." Two said with a nod. "This mission came up just as he arrived. I don't know him, but they can ride herd on him if needed." She paused as Aeron hissed.

"Movement. Airborne." Aeron said and they both froze in place as a set of shadows flew by the building they were on. "Ospreys and...something else. Not sure _what_ that was. Warframe databanks don't have a match."

"New kind of drone?" Two asked, keeping her voice down.

"Must be." Aeron said, tracking the airborne pack of machines as they moved away. "It's big, whatever it is. But their path doesn't look like a patrol pattern. Might be a test flight or shakedown."

"If they come back, we will have to handle them." Two said, checking her Boltor rifle.

"Hopefully, we will be gone by then." Aeron said with a nod. "If not? We deal."

"You know...?" Two said with a smile in her voice. "I _much_ prefer this version of you." Aeron looked at her and she snorted. "You were a whiney little thing."

"Well... Yeah, I was." Aeron agreed with a sigh. "I make no excuses. I was...overwrought but yeah, I whined too much. Everything I knew or thought I knew was turned on it's head. I was sure I was going crazy and all I could worry about was myself. I am glad Sensei offered me the place he did. I feel...right here. Now."

"Good." Two said with a smile in her voice then she became professional. "Movement. Green lights on the landing pad."

"I see them." Aeron said, his rifle tracking the small group of Corpus techs, five in all, who had left the building he had surmised was the security response team's. The powerful scope on his Snipetron coupled with the enhanced vision of his warfame allowed him to see every imperfection on the boxy helmets that the Corpus troops wore. He sighted in on one in the front of the group. "Range?"

"One thousand, two hundred and four meters." Two said calmly, her eyes on the own scope. "Wind is four from the north, visibility good. I am- Whoa..." She said in a bemused tone. "You see what I see?"

"_Two_ cargo lifters moving into a landing pattern at the same time?" Aeron said, his tone as bemused as hers. "Corpus don't do that. If they foul each other, its inefficient. They may shave the landing times by seconds, but they never land more than one at once outside of combat." Then he realized something "Those techs don't look happy, do they?" Indeed, all five of them had drawn their Supra machine guns and had them at the ready.

"No." Two agreed, he posture tightening. "No alarms, so the others haven't been sighted yet."

"Or no one survived to sound the alarm." Aeron said, his focus on the ships that were landing.

The spaceport was large enough for multiple ships to land at once. But...it was odd. One ship was landing where green lights had been blinking. The other wasn't. It was moving to a disused landing grid and... Aeron went still as the spaceport defenses opened fire on the second ship. It took a series of blasts and fell out of the sky to smack into the ground with a loud bang that was clearly audible even to the distant sniper and his spotter.

"Okay..." Aeron said softly, shaking his head a little and then looking through his scope. "Unauthorized landing. Coincidence?"

"_Is_ there such a beast?" Two asked, her eyes glued to her spotting scope. "MOAs. Forming up to search the wreck. But... no alarm?"

Indeed, it looked like _all_ the fabricators around the spaceport had set out their cargos of robots. The green, brown, blue and white chicken legged proxies closed in on the severely damaged spacecraft in a concentric circle.

"Holy..." Aeron said softly as the ship that had landed safely opened it's cargo door and...yes. There it was. His face was hard as he looked through his scope. "Confirmed. Orokin cryopod. Intact. Occupied."

"Can you tell the manner of warframe?" Two asked softly, not that they needed to be quiet at a range of over a thousand meters. It was habit, a good habit.

"Not from here." Aeron said after a moment. "Bad angle, they will be moving it out of the..." He paused as the wail of an alarm sounded from the distance and then he cursed. "We are detected."

"Are we? Look at the Techs." Two asked, her tone curious as she stared at the scene unfolding below. All five of the Corpus goons were aiming at the crashed ship now. Both Hyenas were moving to bracket the ship and the patrolling squad had sought cover as well. More Corpus troops poured out of the security building and all of them were aiming at the crashed ship. "You don't _think_-...?" She started to say and then choked it off as a horde of leaping forms swarmed out of the crashed ship.

"Infested." Aeron said calmly as he stared through his scope. "A _lot_ of Infested." He watched as the horde of mutated beings ran into the sudden firestorm that the Corpus threw out and kept right on going. For every one that the Corpus troops killed, three or four more came out of the crashed ship. Then the tidal wave of monsters hit the Corpus troops and it was free for all. The Hyenas charged the flank of the Infested assault, but in turn, _they_ were charged by several much larger forms that appeared from the ship. Anti-personnel turrets unfolded on their perches and opened fire. More infested charged from the ship. "This is a full scale assault."

"They used the Corpus ship to get close enough that the biggest guns can't touch them." Two said, her tone almost admiring. "Nice."

"Complicates things." Aeron said with a scowl, watching the Techs sweep their laser fire over the line of chargers, only to get stunned when a trio of runners made it into their midst and detonated. Then the leapers and chargers were on the Tech and it was a slaughter. All of the robots were down now, the MOAs swarmed under and the Hyenas being bludgeoned by multiple Ancients each. "No more MOAs?" He asked.

"Not a main base." Two said, her tone dubious. "Intel suggests they planned on it being a secret, them brining in a cryopod so they could brainwash the occupant before he or she is fully awake. But... There should be more."

"Eyes." The soft voice startled both of them. "Report." Sensei was calm.

"Infested attacking the spaceport." Two replied as Aeron continued to survey the carnage below. "They used a Corpus ship to get close. No alarm."

"Alarms are currently offline. Turrets should deactivate momentarily." Sensei replied. "Long range sensors are spoofed for the moment as well. Keep the Infested away from the pod." Indeed, the automated guns suddenly stopped firing and closed back up. Aeron's eyes were cold and hard under his warframe helmet as the battle below became a massacre.

"No one is eating our kin while we are here, Sensei." Two said with a snarl. "Aeron! Corpus trying to sound the alarm again."

"I got him." Aeron said softly as he took careful aim at the Corpus who was frantically hitting buttons on a control panel. He fired and watched as the Corpus goon fell away from the panel, to fall to his knees and then the ground. He didn't move again. "Target. Should we displace?"

"Corpus are busy. Infested don't have a lot of long range hardware. We have altitude and concealment." Two said slowly. "Sensei?"

"Maintain position." Sensei ordered. "We need eyes on. Any rough idea on number of Infested?"

"Lots." Aeron said softly. "At least a hundred on site currently. They keep coming out of the ship. I don't think they are just here for the base, Sensei. This is a ploy to take the habitat. I would bet on more ships arriving shortly."

"We better be gone by then." Sensei agreed. "We are picking up the pace. ETA two minutes."

"Roger on two minutes." Aeron said. "ROE?" Rules of engagement.

"Keep them away from the pod. And try not to let the ship leave." Sensei said quietly. "Out."

"Two?" Aeron said dubiously. "Any idea where I can hit that ship to hurt it?"

"Hull is far too thick to shoot through. Not a lot showing external." Two said just as dubiously, sweeping her scope over the hull of the grounded spacecraft. "I see... power junctions, a few fuel ports... Could hoot one of those, but we need it to stay intact until the team gets there. Wait... nav beacon antennae. Weak spot pinpointed. Take that out and the automated systems won't let it lift. Safety feature."

"Thank you." Aeron said with a smile under his helmet as he took aim at the glowing dot in his scope. "Keep your eyes on the horde. I got this." He fell into the zone, augmented by the white. He felt everything fall away as he took careful aim and fired. He smirked as the nav beacon control panel erupted in a shower of sparks and the entire assembly went dark. "Target."

"Aeron... I am getting... _Look out!_" Two shouted as a bolt of energy passed overhead. "Sniper! Corpus sniper!"

"Tracking!" Aeron said as he looked back along the trajectory the bolt had come from. He shook his head. "Behind the security building, four o'clock. Sorry pal, the Lanka takes too long to charge." He said offhand as he took careful aim at the man who was aiming at him now.

"Quit jawing and kill the scum!" Two demanded just as Aeron fired. Aeron watched as the Corpus vanished. Or, well... His _head_ did. "Good shot." Two said with a sigh. "They know we are here."

"Won't do them much good." Aeron said with a nod of acknowledgement as he watched the slaughter below. Corpus troops were brainwashed into total unthinking loyalty. They would obey orders that even Grineer might balk at, which was saying something. They held their positions, pouring fire into the bleeding ranks of Infested that slammed into them. They died in those positions. "Damn! Infested moving toward the pod."

"Not all of them." Two said quietly. "A squad maybe. But... chargers.." She said with a sigh. "They will tear it apart to get at the nice chilled Tenno steak inside."

"They don't eat people, Two." Aeron said mildly as he laid his sights on the charger closest to the pod. "They infect them. Not that the distinction matters much to _us_. Same as the Corpus or Grineer breaking the pod to kill the occupant; to keep them from waking and joining us. Either way we lose kin." He fired and tracked the next target. His first target literally evaporated when hit by the insanely high powered shot and he fired again terminating another charger. "We have their attention." All of the Infested that were not slowly savaging the few still screaming Corpus had turned towards the distant Tenno's hiding place. "What the...?" Aeron shook his head slowly. "Tell me I am not seeing this, Two."

"I wish I could." Two sounded as dazed as Aeron felt as the Infested in the distance vanished. They had all taken cover from his fire. All of them from Charger to Ancient were now hiding from Aeron's aim. "We know the Infested are smart, but... Geez..." She paused. "Aeron..." She said sharply.

"I see it, but I don't believe it. This is wrong." Aeron said, staring at the Ancient that had just picked up the fallen Corpus sniper's Lanka. "Infested don't _use_ weapons!"

"I don't think anyone told _him_ that!" Two said, flattening herself as the Ancient fired. The bolt didn't come anywhere near them, but... "Can you drop that thing?"

"Don't need to." Aeron said mildly. His point of aim shifted and he fired. The Lanka flew away from the Ancient, the bullet transforming the heavy duty weapon into slag.

"Show off." Two gave a small laugh. Then she hissed. "What are they _doing_?"

The Infested were moving in groups, all of them moving by bounds from cover to cover. All of them _away_ from the ship that held the cryopod.

"Not a clue." Aeron said, shaking his head. His neural connection to the scope allowed him to do that while not moving his rifle. "If I didn't know better, I would say they are moving to deactivate the spaceport defenses while avoiding my direct line of fire. Not typical Infested behavior."

"Ya think?" Two asked sarcastically. "They can't reach us and we can reach them. But Sensei's team will be arriving any moment. When they do..." She paused. "They are on site." A group of Tenno shaped shadows had detached from a wall and were moving towards the open Corpus cargo ship and it's precious cargo.

"They can't carry the pod..." Aeron mused. "I can keep most of the infested at bay, but the Ancients will be a problem. I don't see any of the green ones, but...Aw crap!" He swore as a charger ran headlong into one of the shadows and was cut in half by a Gram. "Going hot!"

"Wait..." Two said, shaking her head. "What are they _doing?_" Aeron felt his eyes go wide under his warframe as the infested...retreated from the now visible Tenno team.

"Eyes..." Sensei sounded as dazed as the sniper team felt. "Are you seeing this too?"

"All of the Infested are retreating." Aeron replied slowly, confused. "That is totally atypical behavior. I have clear shots, but there are too many. Wait... Movement at the ship." He froze. "Sensei..."

"I see it." The Rhino far below had his Hek shotgun in hand and stood in place as a huge Infested appeared from the crashed Corpus ship the Infested had arrived on "Golem."

Golem was a huge Infested who normally was found around the Jupiter area. There had been some question as to how smart it was. Those questions were answered now.

"It is not attacking." Two said slowly. "And the other Infested are moving into the base."

Golem looked up and it's many eyes bored into Aeron even as far away as he was. Then it looked at Karl.

_Not today Tenno._ The voice was everywhere, and nowhere. _Today we take what is ours. Take what is yours and go._

"Ýours?" Sensei said on an open link so that Aeron and Two could hear it, but the huge Infested just turned and headed towards the buildings in the distance. The Corpus brainwashing center.

"Sensei, not to a wet blanket or anything..." Aeron said as he tracked the huge form. "But... Um... Is this a good time to be asking it to stick around?"

"Good point." Sensei replied. "Keep eyes on. Ric is cracking the pod." Indeed, the Vauban warframe was kneeling beside the cryopod while the Excalibur Prime and Trinity kept a wary watch. Aeron maintained his vigil, watching as Golem strode into the Corpus bunker entrance and vanished within. Moments later, the Vauban was helping a warframe from it. "Easy, brother, we got you." Sensei said calmly.

"What? Where...?" A totally unexpected voice sounded from the com link that was still open. Aeron recoiled slightly and Two turned to stare at him.

"We in are danger here, brother. Can you walk?" Sensei asked.

"Yes." The Tenno in the Loki warframe replied as he rose. "I can. Who are you?"

"Names can wait." Sensei said with a sigh. "We have to get out here. Now."

"I don't know you." The Loki shook off Ric's arm with a snarl.

"Sensei, I know him. Is the link two way?" Aeron asked quietly. A light shone on his HUD showing that the Sensei had activated his external speakers. "Jac, don't be a fool." Aeron said coldly. "We are in the middle of enemy territory with a two way battle going on. When they finish up, they come after us. Shut up and do as he says or I am plinking your sorry excuse for brains to make them move faster."

"Aeron?" The Loki asked, dumbfounded. "I... Okay..." He nodded to Sensei. "If Aeron is with you, so am I."

"Follow." Sensei said as he started off, the others moving with fluid, trained grace. Aeron's link turned off and then an private channel opened. Sensei's voice was cautious. "Aeron? Anything you want to tell me?"

"Well..." Aeron maintained his vigil but nothing shone. He sighed. No distractions. "We were partners."

"Partners as in..." Sensei broke off as Aeron coughed.

"_Partners._" Aeron said flatly. "I...um... left when I went with Fran. We...argued. I left."

"Joy." Sensei said with a sigh.

"Yeah." Aeron said with a matching sigh. "It wasn't... It wasn't supposed to be.." He broke off. "Damn it, I am whining again." He said with a snarl.

"We will figure it out." Sensei said calmly. "Keep eyes on until we get to the ducts, then egress. Meet you at the ship in fifteen."

"Roger that." Aeron ignored the white that rose in the back of his mind. He knew his feelings were conflicted. But for now, he had a mission to focus on. He would worry about other things later.


	10. Chapter 10

**What trickery is this?**

"Aeron?"

The soft voice pulled Aeron out of the middle of his work. He was reassembling the Snipetron after cleaning it. He was doing it slow and methodical, each move as carefully thought out as a Japanese tea master running a ceremony. He shook himself out of the half trance and looked up to see Alicia standing there. The Tenno still wore her warframe. Then again, they had only been back for a few minutes. Aeron still wore his, but for a different reason.

"Yes, Alicia?" Aeron asked calmly.

"You knew." She said flatly.

"Knew what?" Aeron asked carefully. "I have been busy."

"Our new 'guest' refuses to talk to us." Alicia said with a half sigh, half snarl. "I have had to scan remotely. But what I found... wasn't what I expected." Aeron bowed his head. "What is a woman doing in a Loki warframe, Aeron?"

"It's not my story to tell." Aeron said quietly. He bent back over the rifle, only to pause as Alicia stepped closer.

"Aeron, I have to tell Sensei what I found." The Trinity said slowly and carefully.

"You think he doesn't already know?" Aeron asked somewhat snidely. "I bet he knows."

"Aeron, she won't talk to us." Alicia said slowly. "Is she unstable?"

"She never was. No." Aeron shook his head. "She is angry. With me. She has cause." His words were clipped, precise.

"What did you do?" Alicia asked after a moment.

"We were a heck of a team." Aeron said slowly, his eyes on the rifle in front of him, but his gaze far away. "We were partners. She was my spotter and I was her sniper. How she got the Loki is her business. She altered the voice systems to sound masculine. She had reasons." Aeron said when Alicia shuddered.

"That probably permanently altered her voice. It had to hurt." Alicia said, shaking her head. "And you say she is _not_ unstable."

"She had cause. She wasn't unstable when I knew her." Aeron sighed. "Now? I dunno. She didn't start cursing the moment she heard my voice, so... I dunno."

"What did you do?" Alicia's voice was quiet, but held command.

"I left." Alicia made a 'get on with it' gesture and Aeron sighed again. When he spoke it was a monotone. "We had been together for years, but... I needed more. I needed to talk to other people. To socialize. It was stupid, I know, but when Fran asked if I would join her clan... I jumped at it. They offered Jac a place too, not knowing that Jac was female. I don't think they would have cared."

"And...she...?" Alicia asked slowly.

"We had a fight." Aeron said with a wince. "Verbal only. I told her about the offer and she went ballistic. Told me I couldn't go. She said I was 'abandoning her'. Maybe I was, I dunno. It...escalated enough that the guards were called." Alicia winced again and Aeron nodded. "They separated us. I left, and I didn't go back."

"So you did abandon her." Alicia slumped a bit.

"Yeah. Like I say, she has a right to her anger." Aeron said softly. "But she won't hurt anyone else." He looked behind Alicia and nodded. "Will you, Jac?" Alicia spun with an oath as the air behind her shimmered and a familiar form appeared out of an Invisibility field. The Loki was unarmed and it's posture was...odd. Alicia relaxed a bit.

"Always with the all seeing eyes, huh Aeron? Never could hide from you. You didn't come back." The masculine voice sounded from the Loki. "I wanted to apologize."

"I was angry." Aeron said softly. "I went straight to Fran's ship. I never left it, until they all died."

"I am sorry for your loss." The Loki said softly. "I looked for you at every gathering. Every group I joined for missions, I prayed to find you. To apologize for what I said, what I did. But I never did. I never found you."

"The four of us were a team." Aeron wasn't seeing the Loki now. He was staring at something only he could see. "We never worked with anyone else. Four of us were a good size for that. But...Fran didn't like snipers..." He jerked as the white surged forward and then he relaxed slowly.

"What?" The Loki asked softly, disturbed. "Aeron?" Jac pressed when he didn't speak. Then Jac turned to Alicia. "I apologize for ignoring you, following you. But I had to see him. What happened to him?"

"Losing all the others in his clan hurt him badly." Alicia said softly. "There is something in his mind that acts as a mental bandage. At times it won't let him feel at all."

"My god." The Loki said softly, then went stiff as Aeron shook his head. "Aeron..."

"You don't owe me anything, Jac." Aeron said softly. "You...wanted me to stay. And then you said why and I couldn't handle it. I... I couldn't..." He slumped. "Damn it, I am whining again." He shook himself.

"I don't care." The Loki said softly, and the helmet retracted to show a girl's face. Her eyes glistened and her voice was still masculine, rough and edgy. "Through time, space, war and death, I found you. I am not leaving or letting you leave me again."

"Jac..." Aeron sighed. "I _don't_ feel that way for you. I never did. I never...felt for anyone..."

"So... What you told me..." Alicia mused. "About me not being your type..."

"No one was, Ma'am." Jac said softly. "As far as I know, he never has." Alicia's eyes went very wide at that. "Yeah."

"_Ever?_" Alicia blushed. "Oh... dear... Aeron? Didn't your clan inquire?"

"I convinced them not to press." Aeron said in a monotone. "Fran and Matt were an item. Joe was... well, he had a friend in another clan. They left me alone. I...convinced them that I had a girlfriend in another clan."

"Aeron." Jac said, her masculine voice disapproving. Aeron looked up as the door opened and then stilled in place.

"Jac, don't move." Aeron said with a gulp. "Sensei, this is Jac. Jac? Karl Sensei." Jac turned to see Sensei still in his Rhino warframe standing in the door, his Hek shotgun leveled at her. At that angle, none of the pellets would hit Alicia or Aeron. A Loki would probably be able to dodge the first blast, but four...? Jac froze and Aeron shook his head. "You still don't think things through. Do you, Jac? You are under full time surveillance here. It's not paranoia when they are all out to get us. You hitting Invisibility probably set off silent alarms throughout the facility." Sensei inclined his head slightly to Aeron, but the barrels of his Hek didn't waver.

"I mean no offense. I am not your enemy." The girl with the man's voice said slowly. "I will exit my warframe."

"You do that." Sensei said without inflection.

The Loki's helmet sealed and then a hissing noise sounded. The exo skeleton bio armor went stiff and a small lithe form struggled out of it. She wore the usual Tenno bodysuit but her face was clear. She looked at Sensei and her eyes were downcast. The shotgun didn't waver.

"For the insults, I apologize." Jac said, her tone still deep. "But I had to see him. I had to." She met the Rhino's gaze squarely. "I have forgotten much in my cryosleep, but I do remember that. I remember my love."

"And now?" Sensei said softly.

"Now?" Jac said slowly. "I don't know. I was always better at getting into problems than out of them. Aeron was always the planner, the methodical one. We were...a good team."

"The best." Aeron said under his breath.

"How old are you, Jac?" Alicia asked, her warframes built in med scanner whirring.

"I haven't aged since I put on the warframe. I was twenty one standard years old when I stole the Loki." Jac said softly. Aeron sighed, but did not comment.

"You _what?_" Alicia said with a snap. "How do you _steal_ a warframe?"

"You can't anymore." Jac said quietly. "Way back when, if you waited until it is in maintenance cycle and keyed in a full reset of the systems, it accepted the next user as it's main user." Alicia was shaking her head and Sensei finally lowered his shotgun.

"Why?" Alicia asked softly. "Why this deception? It.. It had to be excruciating. The Loki warframe isn't designed for females."

"It conformed after a while." Jac said with a shrug. "It was going to be my brother's. He... He fell off an obstacle during a run, hurt his head. He wasn't going to recover. Indeed, he died in his sleep a week later. My father was old school Tenno." Alicia inhaled and Jac nodded. "We were given a chance at a Loki warframe, so no female was going to be 'right' for it." Old bitterness sounded but then vanished. "I showed him." She said with a small smile. "His face was a study when he found me in it."

"Look, Jac..." Alicia said with a wince. "There is a _reason_ that warframes are geared for males and females. The anatomy is different." She finished her scan and shook her head. "That warframe hurt you when it bonded to you, maybe permanently."

"I am Tenno." Jac said calmly. "So I was raised and so I live. I serve." Alicia looked at her, then at Sensei who shrugged.

"Aeron?" The Rhino asked quietly.

"Jac is crazy but not unstable." Aeron said calmly. "We were a good team." Jac's eyes lit on him and he smiled a little. "I apologize formally, Jac. You deserved better than me just vanishing out of your life."

"And I apologize formally." Jac said with a nod. "I had no right to call you what I did. You are not a soulless piece of crap." Alicia looked from one to the other, her wonder apparent even through her warframe. But then Jac crumpled a bit.

"Jac?" Aeron asked. "You okay?"

"Dizzy." Jac said with a swallow. "Been a while since I was out of the warframe." Alicia scanned her again and sighed.

"You need fluids and electrolytes." Alicia said with authority. "Are you going to be a pain?" She asked sourly.

"No." Jac replied. "I do need to talk to Aeron, but it can wait. Aeron... I..."

"We will talk." Aeron promised her. "Let the docs tend you. They will anyway and they get upset when people don't do what they say. Don't get them upset, Jac." He warned her.

Jac smiled and stepped close. She ignored Sensei raising his shotgun again as she threw her arms around his warframe and hugged it tight. She released Aeron and stepped back, nodding to Alicia while ignoring Sensei. She followed Alicia from the room, the Trinity shaking her head in disbelief.

"Ah, Jac..." Aeron said fondly as the door hissed shut behind them. "Don't take it personal, Sensei. She is... well..." He shrugged. "She is Jac."

"She was always like that?" Sensei asked as he slung his shotgun.

"Yeah." Aeron said quietly. "I... I hurt her. It was some time before I realized how badly my vanishing would have hurt her. And then... The War... I looked for her too, but never found her."

"So... why the voice?" Sensei said after a moment.

"A female voice from a Loki?" Aeron asked with a shrug. "It would have bothered people. And then we had all kinds of problems with people trying to infiltrate us for various reasons. Many Tenno would have immediately assumed she was a spy and opened fire. She changed her voice herself before coming to join the ranks. She used the short of her name. Jac for Jaclyn." Sensei nodded at Aeron's explanation. "Bad times."

"That they were." Sensei agreed. "Can we trust her?"

"That I don't know." Aeron said with a frown. "It's been a long time. But, she _can_ keep a secret. She kept her identity and gender from me for almost two years until she was hit bad enough I had to open part of her warframe. Surprised the hell out of me, let me tell you."

"I believe it." Sensei said, examining the shed Loki warframe. "Can you work with her?"

"She obviously hasn't lost her crush on me." Aeron said with a sigh. "But yeah, I can."

"You okay?" Sensei asked.

"Truthfully?" Aeron asked. "I don't know. She is... I don't feel for her the way _she_ feels for me. I never did. But... I do like her."

"We will give her a chance." Sensei said with a nod. "Good shooting by the way."

"Not up to my standards, but okay." Aeron disagreed calmly. "I will improve."

"You shot that Lanka out of that Ancient's tentacle and it's not up to your standards?" Sensei asked incredulous.

"I was aiming at the tentacle." Aeron admitted a bit sheepishly. Sensei stared at him and then started laughing. "Hey! I take misses very seriously."

"You shot the gun out of it's tentacle with a _miss_?" Sensei was chortling. "You blew the gun out of it's _hand_! And you are _complaining_?"

"I..." Aeron sighed and chuckled as well. "All right." Aeron said with a sigh. "I'll stop."

"Aeron..." Sensei said, his mirth subsiding. "I don't know if _any_ of the rest of us could have hit the tentacle _or_ the gun from that range. Either way, it was a heck of a shot."

"I will try not to whine." Aeron agreed. "I have always been a bit... down... Even since I was a kid."

"Fair enough." Sensei said, his mirth gone. "You are very good at what you do, Aeron. Don't ever deny that. Come on." He waved for Aeron to leave the half assembled rifle.

"What?" Aeron asked, unsure. "I have to finish."

"You need to relax." Sensei said with a sigh. "Geez, I am turning into a shrink."

"Sensei, I can't leave a weapon half done." Aeron said, his hands starting to fly as he reassembled the rifle quickly. In less than a minute, it lay gleaming on the table. He picked it up and carried it to a locker that he placed it in and sealed. Sensei was nodding. "Warframe?" Aeron asked.

"We are going to run the obstacle course." Sensei said with a nod. "All the Tenno but Alicia who is busy with Jac. She will run it later, _she_ has no issues with socializing like some of us do. So, you, me, Will, Ric and Two." Aeron chuckled and Sensei looked at him. "What?"

"I was just wondering how stable Ric is." Aeron said with a snort. "Because between my problems, Will's amnesia, Alicia whose love for Will is sort of returned and she likely has problems with that, Two's existential quandary..." Sensei stopped in midstep and Aeron shrugged. "She started as a figment of Serene's imagination, right?"

"A little more than that." Sensei said but he was shaking his head. "And then the three humans who were thralls have issues -understandably- and Amelia who has issues of her own..." He sighed. "Is this a dojo or an asylum?" He asked sourly.

"A dojo." Aeron said with force. "You don't have to be crazy to what we do..."

"But it helps." The pair of Tenno chorused on the final words.

"Ric is remarkably stable." Sensei said with a nod. "A whiz with tech and explosives. Strange sense of humor, but stable."

"Most explosives experts I have known have been a bit...strange." Aeron said in a mild voice. "I look forward to working with him."

"Be warned." Sensei said quietly. "He is a history buff and found an old entertainment media called TV. Something called 'Monty Python'? He liked the accent from the media and copied it."

"Do I want to know?" Aeron asked, only half humorous.

"He calls it 'Londonderry', whatever that means." Sensei said with a shrug. "He is stable, he just talks in an odd accent."

"Londonderry?" Aeron thought hard. "I...think that was someplace on the island of England or was it the island of... Scotland?" He shook his head. "Dang, it's been a long time since I studied ancient Earth geography."

"Northern European continent anyway." Sensei said with a nod. "Mostly gone since the Collapse. He is good with any kind of tech you can name. And he knows better than to tinker with Orokin tech without safeguards." He said as Aeron winced.

"Good." Aeron's voice held old fear. "So, a run and then I talk to Jac. You want to be there?"

"We better keep it formal." Sensei agreed. "I will be there."

"Okay." Aeron agreed. "So, full obstacles, parkour, all that?" Sensei nodded and Aeron grinned under his warframe. "Sounds like fun."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sister's Strength  
**

Aeron was smiling as he and Sensei walked into the medical ward. He had always enjoyed running. The added agility that the warframes allowed made for some...interesting runs. Then the obstacle course that was specifically designed for Tenno in warframes and, well... he had enjoyed it immensely. Karl still wore his warframe, but Aeron had removed his. They both came to a sudden stop as they saw Amelia leaning against the wall.

"Doctor?" Sensei asked calmly.

"Ah, Sensei... Aeron..." Amelia shook her head, her face was stricken. "Um... Jac is in room four, she is... resting."

"Amelia?" Aeron asked slowly. "What is wrong?"

"That is one tough girl." Amelia said softly. "She walked here. I couldn't..." She swallowed heavily and Aeron moved to her side.

"What is wrong?" Aeron pressed. "Is Jac okay?"

"She is alive." Amelia replied, her voice heavy. "Do you know if she ever exited the warframe after she put it on the first time?"

"I don't know." Aeron said slowly. "Knowing her, I doubt it. Why?" Amelia shook her head, her face falling. "Amelia?" He asked, worried.

"The...marks on her bone structure are clear, Aeron, Sensei." Amelia said softly. "When she put the warframe on the first time, it crushed her hips and pelvis into a male shape." Aeron stiffened in shock. She nodded. "Walking here outside of the warframe hurt her. Very badly. When we put her under the scanner, her pain readings were off the scale. And she never made a sound."

"She always was tough, but sheesh." Aeron's face was stricken. "How bad?"

"We don't know the full extent of the damage yet." Amelia said with a sigh. "But... Tenno or human... Male and female anatomy are different. The warframe closed around her, constricted around her and crushed her body into the shape _it_ desired. She is not going to be able to move far or fast outside of it. Not without a _lot_ of rehab."

"Warframes heal their users." Sensei said into the silence that fell. "She moved well _in_ the warframe."

"None of us had a clue she was so badly hurt until the scan started." Amelia agreed. "I don't know if _she_ knew how badly she was hurt."

"Can it be fixed?" Aeron asked, his face closed.

"Aeron..." Amelia shook her head. "We would have to take her completely apart and rebuild many bones from scratch. _Could _we do it? Yes. It would take years even with the medical tech here. There are just _so_ many deformed bones." Aeron looked sick and Amelia nodded. "Her vocal damage is fairly straightforward. It healed the way it is, and it's been that way for a long time. Jimmy and Alicia are looking into options. But Sensei..." Amelia looked stricken. "She can't go back into that Loki warframe. She _can't_. If we change anything and she goes back into it..." She paused as Aeron inhaled, fear and worry warring for prominence. The white inside his skull soothed the feelings, but did not wipe them away.

"It will change her back." Karl agreed quietly. "Forcefully. Warframes are designed to maintain the status quo of the wearer. One reason the wearers don't age. Okay, she won't. Doctor, how is she otherwise?"

"We have Jac on bed rest, fluids, and some basic painkillers." Amelia said with a nod. "She is badly dehydrated. If she was relying on the warframe for so long, she may have difficulty adjusting to life out of it. _If_ she can even move." She shook her head. "I can't believe she managed to walk here. _Alicia_ can't believe she managed to walk here. Alicia knew Jac was having trouble walking but none of us had a _clue_. Karen is sitting with her, talking to her. We don't want to leave her alone. Any strength has limits."

"Jac always was tough." Aeron said with a nod. "But yeah. Any... Any chance of her recovering?" He asked, cautious.

"I had a thought on that, actually." Amelia said with a nod. "If we do it surgically, the repairs will take a long, long time and there is no guarantee that she will recover fully. She did fine _in_ the warframe, yes?"

"Yes." Sensei agreed slowly. "Doctor..." He said sourly. "You _cannot_ be saying what I think you are saying."

"It might work. Get a female warframe." Amelia said slowly when he trailed off. "Put her in it. If what Alicia said is true, you can set it to gently and _slowly_ reform her body. It will still take time, I don't know how long. But she will be mobile and it would keep her free of pain while it works." Aeron stared at her and Amelia shrugged. "In the end, the decision is hers. She is calm and lucid despite her pain. I think that may be the best choice. A full body cast that allows unprecedented mobility."

"I don't know...It hurts like hell when a new warframe activates the neural bond." Aeron said, shaking his head. "Sensei?"

"We have spare warframes." Sensei said slowly. "Not a lot of them, and more parts than actual full sets." He grunted. "We should talk to her. You say she is lucid?" He asked Amelia who nodded.

"Just enough painkillers to take the edge off." Amelia said with a sigh. "She didn't react externally although the neurotransmitters for pain decreased. Either the pain doesn't impact her...Or she has ignored it for so long that she doesn't notice it now."

"Could be either." Sensei agreed. "Aeron?"

"She always was tough." Aeron said, his voice low. "I.." He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes before speaking. "What do I say? 'I am sorry I never noticed you were being tortured every minute I knew you'?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

"No." Amelia said quietly, coming to stand beside him. "You say you are sorry and that you want to help. Which you are and you do. She does love you, Aeron."

"I know." Aeron said, standing up straight. "Should we... She is under observation of course." He said slowly, thinking through each word. "Anything else beside her injuries?"

"Prolonged time in cryo took it's toll." Amelia said with a sigh. "She remembers you but Alicia asked her some questions and Jac couldn't answer them. Basic questions. Like the difference between a Bronco and a Lex." Aeron winced and then nodded. "Sound familiar?" Amelia asked gently.

"Yeah." Aeron agreed. "Most Tenno remember bits, pieces. It varies." Karl nodded but remained silent and Aeron continued. "I remembered my fight with Jac as well as my love for rifles. I... I can't remember much from before the War. I had a family once, I know that. I saw a picture of me as a kid. But I don't remember them. Those memories are gone."

"Some of the chemicals that make up memories are more susceptible to cryo damage than others." Amelia said with a scowl. "One of the things that seems to hold them solid is if the memory is sharp or emotionally charged. Your fight with Jac was both, was it not?" She said gently and Aeron nodded.

"Sensei..." Aeron said quietly. "Can she stay until we figure out what to do?"

"I am not going to pick her up out of the bed and toss her out an airlock, Aeron." Sensei said with a snort. "Not without a _lot_ more reason. We do need to talk to her." Amelia nodded and started off. The two males followed, silent.

Whatever they were expecting when the door to room four opened, hearing Karen laugh was not it.

"...that is _bad_, girl." Karen was shaking in mirth as she sat in her chair next to the bed. She chortled. "You are _bad_, Jac. Oh..." She jerked as Amelia entered the room, followed by Sensei and Aeron. "Doctor, Sensei, Tenno Aeron..."

Jac seemed to straighten a bit in the bed. She wore a patient gown and had wires and tubes connected to her. Aeron scrutinized her, but nothing seemed off. He wasn't going to doubt Amelia though. The Tenno in the bed flushed a bit under his regard. Amelia moved to check the monitors and Sensei to the wall. He nodded to Aeron.

"Jac?" Aeron asked carefully. "You okay?"

"I will be fine, Aeron." Jac said with a sigh. Her deep voice sounded...wrong coming from such a young looking woman. "The docs worry too much. I will be fine as soon as I am back in my warframe."

"Jac." Aeron said calmly. "Are you okay?" He repeated.

"I..." Jac seemed to wilt a bit. "No." She admitted, her masculine voice small. "It doesn't hurt..." She protested. "I know what pain is, I don't feel it from anywhere on my person."

"Probably because you have ignored it for so long." Amelia said with a sigh.

"Ah, doc... I..." Jac sighed and slumped back. "Okay, I don't argue with professionals. No, Aeron. I am not okay." She admitted. "I don't feel bad, just weak and dizzy. The fluids are helping." She said to Amelia who nodded with a smile. "The warframe did this?" She asked the room.

"Yes." Amelia said gently. Jac visibly deflated a bit. "It crushed your hips and pelvis into a shape more suited for it. Your elbows as well. Jac..." She walked to the bed and took Jac's hand in her own. "Almost every bone in your body was deformed in some way."

Jac was shaking her head but froze as Amelia laid her hand against Jac's, the fingers splaying to invite Jac to do the same. When Jac did, it was obvious that her hand was shaped differently from Amelia's. Aeron stepped to the other side of the bed and took Jac's other hand, which lay limp. He placed it on his and when the fingers spread to match his, it was far, far closer to his than Amelia's. Jac stared at her hand.

"It doesn't hurt..." Jac protested, her eyes flicking from one hand to the other. "It... Why doesn't it hurt, doctor?" She begged, looking at Amelia.

"I don't know, Jac." Amelia said frankly. "The chemicals that tell the brain that there is pain in the body are all over your body. But they hit your brain and it's like they stop. Maybe some kind of chemical barrier? Maybe a mental block of some kind." She shrugged. " We need to do a lot more tests to determine what it is."

"Aeron." Jac said quietly, both of her hands coming to take his. "What do I do?"

"Sensei has said you can stay, Jac." Aeron said quietly. Jac's face lit up but Aeron raised his free hand. "You can't use the Loki again, Jac."

"I... I know." Jac said, bowing her head. "I enjoyed the mobility. But..." She sighed. "I don't have any means of getting a new warframe." She scoffed. "Well, I don't think it matters much as long as I am stuck here." She waved at the bed.

"You won't be." Aeron said quietly. Jac looked at him and he smiled. He looked at the Rhino who nodded. Aeron looked back at Jac and his face was grave. "Amelia had a thought and we don't know if it will work or not."

"Oh?" Jac asked carefully. "What kind of thought?"

"If the Loki hurt you..." Amelia said softly. "A warframe designed for a female could help you."

"I..." Jac shook her head, bemused. "Yes." She mused. "It could repair the damage, couldn't it?" She asked. Aeron and Sensei nodded. "But it would have to do it slowly, or it might do more damage. Right doc?" Amelia nodded. Jac stared at them and then slumped a bit. "I can't afford a new warframe."

"If you could..." Aeron said calmly. "Would you?"

"Yeah." Jac said with a touch of heat. "But I don't have any of whatever you guys use for money or anything to barter with."

"You tell good jokes." Karen said from where she had been sitting quietly against the wall. "You are quick and smart and..." She broke off with a cringe as Sensei looked at her. Amelia shook her head at the exchange.

"Jimmy is waiting for you, Karen." Amelia said kindly. "Your treatments are almost done. It won't be long now before you won't need the chair."

"Yes, doctor." Karen said quietly. She rolled her chair up to the bed, took Jac's limp hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. "Get better soon, Jac. I want to hear the rest of that story." Jac smiled at her as Karen wheeled the chair and rolled form the room in silence.

"She is a good person." Jac said softly. She froze as the door opened again and Cora beckoned Sensei out. He went without a sound. "Was that a Grineer?" Jac asked cautiously.

"She was." Amelia said with a shrug. "Now she is a sort of headmistress here. Not Tenno, but learning." She paused as she looked at Aeron whose face had closed up. "Aeron?" She asked.

"If you were in a cryopod from the end of the war until now..." Aeron said softly. Jac froze in place, her face and body going utterly still. "How do you know what a Grineer looks like?"

"I..." Jac stammered. "Karen said..." She broke off as Aeron retreated a step. "Aeron..." She begged.

"Don't lie to me, Jac." Aeron said softly, his voice going low and dangerous. "How do you know what a Grineer is?" He repeated.

"I don't." Jac said quickly. "I guessed from something Karen said."

"Did you?" Aeron asked slowly. "_Rea sebulba!_" He shouted at her and she froze again.

"Aeron, what the fu-...?" Amelia said as she recovered from jumping.

"You know what that means, don't you Jac?" Aeron demanded as Jac shrank back into the bed, her face paling. "Don't you?" He stalked forward only to freeze as Sensei spoke.

"Stand down, Aeron." Sensei said calmly from the doorway. Cora stood beside him, a Dera rifle in hand aimed at the bed. "She can't tell you."

"What do you mean?" Jac asked, her fear showing as her voice rose slightly.

"Jac." Sensei said as he laid a hand on Cora's rifle, forcing it down. "Code: Lotus, Seven Bravo Red Sierra Sigma Nine Three Four Gold." Jac jerked in the bed and then she screamed loud and long, clutching her head.

"Jac!" Amelia said sharply. "Sensei?" She demanded when he moved to block her path.

"I... I am fine, Doctor Amelia." Jac said as she slumped on the bed. "That... hurt... But..." She shook her head. "What was that?" She asked, worried.

"The Corpus tried to brainwash you while you were still in your pod." Sensei said with a nod. "Ordinarily, they dissect Tenno they capture." Jac gulped and he nodded. "They use the parts for this machines. In this case, they tried something new. It wouldn't have worked on a conscious Tenno. But a sleeping one?"

"I..." Jac shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Our resident techs were going over your Loki." Sensei said quietly. "They found where information was beamed into your skull via the warframe's neural links. Unluckily for them, the Lotus also apparently used that link to try and wake you. She implanted a series of codes to give you back your free will. They apparently blocked her signal, but couldn't get access back to your brain. Hence why you were heading to that brainwashing facility."

"So I wake up there, a prisoner. Probably out of my warframe." Jac said, slowly relaxing. "And they have all the time in the world to break my mind, make me a monster. But... I..." She shook her head. "Aeron is right. How did I know your... friend is a Grineer?"

"Karen did make some comments about them." Sensei said with a nod at Aeron. "Aeron overreacts around Corpus."

"I don't blame him. Karen said they killed his clan." Jac slumped in the bed. "I..." She bowed her head and when she spoke it was strong. "And the code?"

"The Lotus works fast, Jac." Sensei said with a nod. "And she can access any of our gear, so..." He shrugged. "Does it hurt now?"

"It does." Jac said slowly. "But now that I know it is there, its more an ache than pain. All over." She paused as Amelia sighed. "What?"

"Jac, that amount of pain would have any human writhing on the ground screaming her lungs out." Amelia was fed up with this. "If everyone is done stressing my patient, she needs rest." The doctor snapped.

"Doctor, wait..." Jac said slowly. "Sensei... If they did more, can you find it? Remove it?"

"Yes." Sensei said with a nod.

"Do it." Jac said softly. "I will not be a threat to Aeron. As for the rest? Let me think on it. Your hospitality is accepted, for now. I will do what I can to help when I am able."

"Very well." Sensei said with a nod. "Anything else?"

"Yes." Jac spoke quietly but with force. "Aeron..." She said, holding out a hand. "It's not your fault." She said at his stricken expression. "Sensei Karl... Will you take my oath?"

"Are you sure, Jac?" Sensei asked kindly. "A female warframe may not work. And even if it does, the neural bonding will be rough."

"Where Aeron goes, I go." Jac said quietly. "Sister to brother..." Her masculine sounding voice was pitched to Sensei, but her eyes were on Aeron. "...yours in life and death."

"Brother to sister..." Aeron said softly as Sensei said the same words. "...yours in life and death."

"Welcome, sister Jac." Sensei said calmly.

"Good to meet you, Brother Karl." Jac said with a nod. "Now if you could get this crap out of my head...?" She said sourly.

"Aeron." Sensei said with a nod. Aeron jerked to attention and nodded. "Stay with her. Amelia?" The human looked at him. "Alicia and Jimmy will be in when they are done with Karen's treatment. Take care of our new sister." With that, he turned and left the room, Cora following.

"Right." Amelia moved to a cabinet and started looking through the medical supplies there. "You need a nap, naughty girl." Amelia said with a snarl as she prepared a hypo.

"Do I get a bottle and pacifier with that?" Jac asked innocently. Amelia sputtered but smiled and shook her head as she readied the injection. "Darn." She looked at Aeron whose eyes were haunted. "When they are done with me, we will talk." Amelia injected her and Jac sighed. "Aeron? Her voice was slurring but recognizable. "I am sorry I am such a pain... I'll do better. I promise..." She took a deep breath and fell asleep.

"We will." Aeron agreed softly as he sat beside the bed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Changes in attitude**

"Aeron?"

Jac's soft voice had Aeron sit upright in his chair. She had lain still in her bed ever since the three docs had done their work. She still wore the patient gown and the tubes still ran into her, but most had been slowed or shut off. Her voice, as always, was the masculine sound that was so wrong coming out of a girl's mouth. Her eyes were clear as she looked down at herself and then at Aeron.

"Hello Jac." Aeron said with anod. "Sleep well?"

"I did." Jac said with a smile. "Thank you. How long..." She paused and grimaced. "You won't tell me how long I was in cryo, will you?" Aeron just looked at her and she sighed.

"Truth be told, Jac, I don't know." Aeron said softly. "I never asked. What I do know is that some landmarks that I remember in various places are gone. Destroyed or eroded." Jac stared at him and then nodded soberly. A very long time indeed. "My group... We spent the time asleep in cryopods on our ship, buried in an asteroid. The Lotus woke us, told us we were needed, so we dove into the fray."

"Who is the Lotus?" Jac looked confused. "Brother Karl said that earlier. It sounds...vaguely familiar but I don't remember anyone by that name."

"Neither do I." Aeron agreed. "Neither does anyone else I know. She is the voice that guides us in this time. Someone from this time. It's enough to know that we are needed. And yes, we are needed."

"How bad is it?" Jac asked quietly.

"Bad." Aeron said in a monotone. "It's a three way war with us tring to protect the remnant humans in the middle. The Grineer are a collections of degenerate clones. A few, like Cora, are oddities amongst their ranks. But for the most part, they are billions and billions of armored goons with guns." Jac winced at that and Aeron nodded. "Good news is that for the most part, they are not all that bright."

"A stupid enemy is a gift. Then the... Corpus?" Jac asked carefully. Aeron nodded, his face stone mask. "I am sorry about your clan, Aeron." She said sadly.

"They died fighting." Aeron looked away for a moment. "None of us ever said it, but we all knew. No Tenno expects to die in bed."

"No." Jac said quietly. "But it doesn't lessen the hurt. Maybe if I hadn't been stupid and wanted you all for myself, I would have been there to help..." She broke off as Aeron laid a hand on her closest one. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Jac." Aeron said, his voice sure. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Jac asked, confused.

"What is past is past, Jac." Aeron said with a sigh. "If we could go back and change things, we would. But we can't." Why did he shiver a bit when he said that? The feeling passed. "We both made mistakes. Neither of us talked to the other. I...should have." He looked away for a moment and then back at her.

"I thought you needed space." Jac said in a soft, sad voice of memory. "So I gave it to you. My mistake. Then I drove you away."

"Jac." Aeron gave the hand he held a shake. "Stop punishing yourself. It wasn't all you. It wasn't all _me_. It was both of us." He shook his head. "I am sorry I hurt you. I want to help. Even if you were not my sister now, I would want to help."

"You are a good Tenno, Aeron." Jac said, her voice husky. "No matter what you say or think, you are a good Tenno. I... I won't press." She said with a gulp. "I won't drive you away again."

"Alicia is kind, but _she_ is pressing." Aeron said with a sigh. "She says it isn't healthy, what I did to myself. But I was never interested."

"I understand." Jac said with a nod. "Lets...table that discussion for a while." Aeron looked at her and she smiled. "It's not comfortable for either of us. What is the third group? You said a 'three way war'."

"Infested." Aeron said with a nod. Jac stared at him and shivered. "Yeah." He said softly. "Some mistakes can't be fixed."

"I...I don't 'quite' remember why the Infested were created." Jac sad slowly. "But I do remember fighting them. Herding them at the enemy. They are loose?" She asked with a shiver.

"Yeah." Aeron said with a sigh. "Good news is that all three factions hate each other as much or more than they hate us. Oh, they attack us, but they also attack each other. And since they usually can't _find_ us, they focus on each other."

"So we pick our targets and do what we can." Jac said quietly. "Sounds familiar." She sat up and then sank back down with a grimace.

"How the pain?" Aeron asked, concerned.

"Deal-able with." Jac said with a nod. "It's there, but I can handle it. I can barely believe my warframe did this to me. But I can't deny the evidence."

"Sure you can." Aeron said with a small grin. "But it would be stupid."

"_There_ is the Tenno I knew." Jac said with a smile. But then it faded. "This problem you have... What is it?"

"Sensei and the docs think it is an evolved coping mechanism." Aeron said with a nod. "Any time my emotions go too far, they get... Well 'eaten' is probably the best word."

"'Eaten'?" Jac asked, incredulous.

"Yeah." Aeron said with a nod. "They vanish. I know they are there. But they can't touch me. And then they are not there."

"Oh, Aeron." Jac's eyes were glistening. "I am sorry." Her masculine voice was even deeper in her distress. Aeron smiled and gave her hand another gentle squeeze.

"I am coping, Jac." Aeron said with a nod. "I am alive. And now, so are you."

"Right." Jac said with a nod. "So, next step?"

"Sensei left a list for you to look over." Aeron pulled a datapad from a pocket on his bodysuit and head it out to her. "We don't have all the warframes in spares, but we several. We will need to be very careful getting you into a new one. Your body is acclimatized to the Loki."

"I don't get it." Jac said with a shrug. "I can't pay for it. Why are you all _giving_ me one?"

"Myself?" Aeron said with a shrug. "I owe you for what I did to you so long ago. I am the last living member of my former clan, so all their resources are mine. We didn't scrimp on things, but we didn't splurge either. We were frugal, so there was a surplus. Those resources came to this clan. We are not hurting for raw materials or credits, Jac."

"It still feels like charity." Jac said with a half snarl as she looked at the list. "What the-?" She paused. "Nova?" Her voice held wonder now. Small wonder. Nova warframes had been rare before the War.

"Surprised me too, that they had a spare of that warframe." Aeron said with a nod. "Sensei said that the clan who was here before had no Novas, so how they got it or why, no one knows."

"So... Banshee, Mag, Nova or Saryn." Jac said with a nod. "He says we _can_ get any of the others, we just don't have all the parts on site. I... I dunno Aeron." Jac said slowly. "If I... deformed to fit the Loki... Will I _fit_ in a female warframe?"

"The docs say 'yes', Jac." Aeron said in a kind tone. "They are talking about some surgery to make sure your lower torso fits in without problems, but that may not even be necessary. You are not that big, Jac." He smiled to show it was a joke and she smiled back, a bit hesitant.

"The warframe adjusted inside once it realized I wanted to look male. Padded the inside to keep me from bouncing around." Jac said with a wince. "It wasn't very _comfortable_, mind you. But even then, there is no way I would have _ever_ fit in a Banshee." She said with a sigh. "Simply too thin around the midsection. I have _never_ been that thin."

"We could make it work." Aeron's tone was supportive.

"I... No." Jac said with a shake of her head. "Not Banshee. And Saryns always bothered me. I am not sure why."

"Well..." Aeron said with a grin. "If you had heard some of the jokes Matt and Joe made about Fran..." He broke off as his face went stricken. He curled in on himself a bit. The white surged, but it couldn't hold the rush of emotion that came suddenly and swept him away.

"Aeron?" Jac said, worried. "Aeron..." She said quietly, but with force. "Come here." She pulled on the limp hand that still held hers.

"They always made jokes about Fran's flatulence killing people..." Aeron said in a dazed voice. "I... always laughed... even when they were not funny."

"Aeron." Jac said sharply. "Come here." She demanded. She pulled on his hand and he let her pull him close until she could wrap her other arm around him and hold him while he shuddered. "Easy, Aeron, easy..." Jac said sadly as she held him as he started to cry. "It's okay. It's okay... Easy..." She crooned.

"She would get so mad." Aeron said through his tears. "And then she would laugh and it was all good."

"Remember the good, Aeron." Jac said as she held the shuddering Tenno. "Let go of the bad. It's all right, brother. It's all right." She soothed him as he wept.

"I am not all right, Jac." Aeron protested. "I am not."

"I don't care." Jac retorted. "It will _be_ all right. I love you and I will not let you beat yourself up for something that was not your fault."

"You don't know that." Aeron said with a touch of heat. "You can't."

"Aeron." Jac said with a snap. "I know _you!_" He stared at her through tear clouded eyes and she hugged him close. "The Tenno I love is no coward. He is no shirker. There is no _way_ he did _not_ go down fighting as hard as he _could_. Any Tenno or group of Tenno can be overwhelmed, Aeron. I am sorry it happened to you. But I am not going to let you wallow in this anymore. Shape up. Now. Or I am going to go get a whip." Aeron froze and then started laughing weakly. Jac snarled at him, but it was silly as opposed to scary. "Oh, right. Laugh at me, you bad boy. I _will_ beat you!"

"You would." Aeron said with an exaggerated wince. He relaxed slowly, the tears ebbing and stopping. "It hurts, Jac. Even through the white, it hurts so much."

"I know." Jac said sadly. She hugged him again and let him go. "I am here. You need a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on or a hand to beat the crap out of you, I am here."

"You and your threats." Aeron said with a bubbling laugh. "I had forgotten the threats."

"You are a bad, bad boy." Jac said, hitting Aeron on the top of his head lightly. "No cookie for you." Far from hurt, Aeron burst out laughing. Jac smiled indulgently at him, her face serene. "Better?" She asked when he finally managed to stop laughing.

"Yeah." Aeron said with a nod, wiping his face with his sleeve. "Thanks. I needed that."

"You are a mess, Aeron." Jac said softly. "But I don't care. I will help you. But to do that, I need to get out of this bed. And to do _that_..." She picked up the datapad from where she had laid it down beside herself. "Mag or Nova."

"My own foibles are not..." Aeron began only to pause as Jac reached out and laid a finger across his lips. "Wha-?"

"Banshee and Saryn are out." Jac said calmly as she retracted her hand. "Mag and Nova are both highly mobile. I liked the mobility of the Loki."

"Mag you can pull enemies to you or crush them. Nova you can wormhole and blow them to atoms." Aeron said with a nod. "Both are fast, if not that well protected."

"Loki was no Rhino or Frost either." Jac replied. "I liked being able to walk unnoticed, Invisibility was fun." She shook her head. "No more living in the past for either of us." She declared. Aeron looked at her and she scowled dramatically. "Don't make me beat you." Aeron snorted a laugh and she looked back at the datapad. "I only want to go through the bonding once." She said with a frown. "Mag... seems to be more general. Nova is more destruction oriented."

"Nova has Wormhole." Aeron admitted. "Maybe not as useful in combat as your Switch Teleport was, but useful."

"Might be useful for getting to high sniper perches." Jac said, thinking.

"Jac." Aeron said repressively. "This is about _you_ and what _you_ want. Not me."

"_You_ taught me how to use a sniper rifle properly." Jac said mildly. "I may not be in your class with one, but I _do_ enjoy using it."

"You learned fast." Aeron said with a nod. "Always thought you would make a better sniper than me someday."

"Anything is possible." Jac admitted. "Probably? Not so much. You have practiced a lot more."

"Not really. Fran didn't like snipers." Aeron said softly. "We fought close combat." Jac's eyes went wide at that.

"_What?_" The bedridden Tenno snarled. "She took a _world_ class sniper and turned him into a melee pounder? Why that _lousy, good for nothing, arrogant..."_ She was just getting into her tirade when the sound of a throat clearing came from the door, cutting her off mid-rant. Both of them turned to see Alicia standing there, tapping her foot.

"I don't see how raising her blood pressure is helping her rest, Aeron." Alicia said repressively. "Jac, do you need a sedative?" She demanded. Aeron recoiled his face shutting down as the white rose up and quelled his emotions. Jac shook herself before responding.

"No mommy Alicia!" Jac said in a mock little boy's voice. "Please don't make me nap! I'll be good! I promise!" Alicia sighed dramatically, but her mouth quirked in an almost smile.

"I can see that having you around is going to be...interesting, Jac." The other female Tenno walked to the bed and scrutinized the monitors. "How is the pain? And no fibs, girl." Alicia said with a laugh, but her face was serious.

"It's there." Jac admitted. "I can't really tell how bad it is, Alicia." She said in a dubious tone. "Is that because I am used to it?"

"Yeah." Alicia agreed. "The weakness? Dizziness?"

"Those seem to be gone." Jac said slowly. "Of course, I haven't tried walking or anything..." She waved at the tubes and wires that festooned her.

"You better not." Alicia said with a frown. "I know it chafes, Jac. But you are badly hurt."

"You think a warframe will help?" Jac asked cautiously.

"One that is set to _you_, as opposed to forming you to suit _it_." Alicia said with a nod. "Yes. Any ideas of which?"

"Mag and Nova are the two I am down to." Jac said quietly. "Honestly, I like them both. Nova has a mobility power though."

"There are always grappling hooks." Alicia said with a smile. "Your levels are good. We will need to do some corrective surgery before you go into whichever you choose." She cautioned Jac.

"The pelvis and hips I understand." Jac said with a nod. "But what else?"

"Aeron?" Alicia said with a nod to where he sat silent. "Can you raise your arm to show your elbow, please? Bend it a few times in different directions slowly?" Aeron did as instructed. "See how it bends, Jac?" Jac nodded mystified. "Look at mine." Alicia raised hers and bent it in various directions. Jac inhaled. There were visible differences. "The damage isn't as bad on your elbows, Jac. The lowest ribs will need some work too." Jac's hand flew to her ribs and Alicia was quick to reassure her. "Nothing bad, they just spread a bit despite everything your warframe could do. Those changes won't take long or have much discomfort. They need to be done before you go into whichever frame you choose."

"It comes down to opinion." Jac said softly. "Both are high mobility. Mag would be useful in more varied situations. Nova would be more destructive. Does the clan need anything in particular? Any holes in the lineup that I can fill?" She asked almost desperately. Alicia shook her head and Jac sighed. "Yeah, that would be too easy. And then I could complain it was all the clan's fault if I hate it." She said with an impish smile. "When do I go for surgery?" She asked finally.

"When you are ready." Alicia said kindly, her hand coming down to take Jac's.

"You are waiting on me?" Jac nearly squeaked in worry.

"How are we supposed to do it without the guest of honor, Jac?" Alicia said with a smirk as Jac chuckled. "You don't need to choose now. We have time." Jac looked at the medic and shook her head.

"Aeron, do you have a coin?" Jac asked after a moment.

"I can get one." Aeron promised her. "You want to flip it?"

"Get Karen to do it." Jac said quietly. "Heads, Mag. Tails, Nova. I am ready." She said to Alicia. Alica inclined her head to Aeron, who rose. He paused and then came to the bedside. He picked up Jac's hand, put it to his mouth and kissed it. He laid it back down and quickly left the room. Jac stared after him, dazed. "And he says he has no romance in his soul..."

"He does like you." Alicia said as she hit a control to let her move the bed that Jac lay on. All the doors in the medical ward were large enough to get beds through. "We all do, sister."

"Good." Jac said as she laid back. "I don't need to get my whips then."

"I _do_ like you." Alicia said as she started the bed off. "We need some levity around here." Jac just smirked.


	13. Chapter 13

**A Cold Heart**

Aeron was sitting by Jac's bed when she woke. He could tell she was awake because her breathing stilled from sleep rhythms for just a moment before she faked them again. He maintained his position, faking a doze, waiting to see what she would do. She just lay there, her eyes barely cracked, looking at him. Both of them were perfectly still. An old game, but one with a very serious aspect. In the real world, snipers had to possess the ability to remain perfectly still for long periods of time. Movement drew the eyes from a great distance. So, when snipers moved, they generally did so very slowly and cautiously. Then they picked a spot and stayed there until they had to move again. They could move fast on occasion. Aeron in particular was capable of intense bursts of speed in his Volt warframe. But most of the time, he preferred not to move fast is at all. When sniper faced sniper, usually the first one to move became dead. Neither he nor Jac reacted when the other occupant of the room spoke up.

"Are you two going to sit there, watching each other, all afternoon?" Karen asked sourly. "If so, tell me. I have other things to do." The chair bound woman set her book reader down and glowered at the two.

"Its a sniper thing." Aeron spoke softly, still not moving. "Jac and I used to play this game all the time. See who moved first." Finally Aeron raised a hand. "Point to you, Jac."

"You let me win. You _never_ let me win!" Jac said incredulous. Then she paused. "What the-...? She said softly, then spoke again, even slower. "I... What is wrong with my voice?" Indeed, it wasn't the masculine sound the others had heard from her. It sounded...female.

"They fixed it." Aeron said simply. Jac's hands shot to her throat and stopped on the organic bandage that covered it. "I think they should have asked first." Aeron said, his voice severe.

"I..." Jac stared at him, her face baffled. "How?"

"They gave a technical description." Aeron said with a frown. "But if I have it right, what you did to yourself elongated the folds of skin that cut off air at intervals, creating what we perceive as audible sounds. The medic who did it shortened the folds of skin. I think."

"That is..." Jac shook her head. "This is going to take some getting used to." She said with a chuckle. "It's okay, Aeron. I was going to ask if they could. This just... Well..." She shrugged. "This is sudden." She looked down at herself and her fingers explored her lower chest, feeling her ribs. "I don't feel any different. I just sound different."

"Good." Aeron said with a nod. "I worried you would be angry."

"Because someone _helped_ me?" Jac demanded. "Aeron. You _really_ don't want that cookie do you?" Aeron had to grin at her sour tone.

"Cookie?" Karen asked slowly. "What the _heck_ is a cookie?"

"Eh..." Jac shook her head. "Not sure. I think it was some form of treat from Ancient Earth. It's a very old joke." She admitted. "But it is funny. I like to make people laugh. I always have. Especially people I like." She smiled at Karen.

"I like you too, Jac." Karen said with a smile. "You are nuts, but a good nuts. As opposed to bad nuts. I saw too many of those." She said, looking away for a moment.

"What happened to you, Karen?" Jac asked, her tone turning serious. "You are a good person, but I see your pain every time I look in your eyes."

"Jac..." Aeron warned her.

"If I am being too forward, say so, Karen." Jac said softly. "But I _do_ like you."

"I like you too." Karen said with a smile that faded. "Short version... Did you ever hear of Nicholas?" Jac went still and Karen nodded. "You did."

"Nothing good." Jac said flatly. "He and his clan went rogue and were being hunted by a Tenno named... Karl..." She trailed off and her eyes went wide. "Karl? Karl Sensei is _that_ Karl?" Aeron and Karen nodded and Jac swallowed a bit. "So... this dojo.."

"Was theirs." Karen said with a nod. "All but two of them are dead now and those two are imprisoned. Good riddance." Old hate sang in her voice. Aeron looked at her, worried, but Jac just held out a hand. "Jac." She asked, curious.

"Come here, girl." Jac said gently. Karen rolled her chair close to the bed and Jac took Karen's hand. "It is none of my business what happened to you. How you wound up here. But you have to let go of this hate. It will destroy you." Aeron nodded. He hoped Karen would listen to Jac. The human woman dug her heels in every time he pressed her to do that.

"I..." Karen shook her head, her face falling. "I can't. It is all I am."

"Not true." Aeron said as he moved to stand beside the chair. "You are my friend."

"_Our_ friend." Jac said fiercely. Karen shuddered a bit and Jac rose up from the bed and embraced Karen gently. "Let us help, Karen? Please?" She begged the human woman.

"Pushy Tenno." Karen said in a husky voice.

"Guilty as charged." Jac said, hugging Karen one more time before letting her go and relaxing to the bed as Karen sat back. "Did you flip?"

"I don't understand." Karen said, shaking her head. "You want me to 'flip a coin'? I had to look up what a 'coin' is and I couldn't find anything on 'flipping' one except some kind of ancient con game. What significance does ancient currency have?"

"None." Jac said with a nod. "Except that coins have two sides. If you have two equally valid choices, it can be a way to determine which to do." She shrugged. "Kind of hard to do with a credit stick or card." Aeron and Karen both chuckled at her tone.

"Aeron explained what to do, but... Throwing an ancient piece of currency up in the air, catching it, putting it on your arm and looking to see what _side_ is up?" Karen asked, her tone dubious. "Why not use a random number generator? That would be more random. And simpler."

"I don't want true random." Jac said with a nod. "Two choices, Nova and Mag warframes. Two equal sides. I cannot choose between the two, Karen. So, I figured to use a traditional way to solve the dilemma."

"To get_ me_ to solve your dilemma, you mean." Karen said with a smirk.

"Ach, caught." Jac said with a grin. The grin faded. "You don't have to. But I do like you and you are impartial. You are the first person who came to mind."

"I would be honored." Karen bowed her head. "But I don't have a coin."

"Aeron?" Jac asked softly. "Did you get one?" Aeron handed her a small object and she examined it. It was a small disk made of metal. It was perhaps two centimeters wide. One side of the flat metal disk was blank, the other held a Lotus symbol. "This will work." Jac said, weighing the coin in hand. "Provided of course, Aeron hasn't rigged it to land on it's edge."

"Would I do that?"Aeron asked in an innocent tone.

"Yes." Karen and Jac chorused. They looked at each other and smiled.

"If you are not cheating, you are not trying hard enough." Jac said with a nod. "But... Sometimes, cheating does not get you what you want. Sometimes it gets you things you _don't_ want." She looked at Aeron and her gaze was flinty. "If this coin _is_ rigged, I am going to get up from this bed and get a whip." Aeron silently took the coin from Jac and replaced it with another he pulled from a pocket. "Good boy." Jac crooned. Karen sputtered a laugh.

"Always with the threats..." Aeron muttered.

"Is there any better way to get an idea through to you?" Jac asked sweetly and Karen laughed. "Anyway..." She held out the coin to Karen who took it dubiously. "Did he demonstrate?"

"He did." Karen said slowly, placing the coin on her thumb. "Ready?"

"Don't let us see it until you do. That is supposedly an important part of the tradition." Jac cautioned the human. "Heads -the symbol-, Mag. Tails -the blank-, Nova. Go." She said calmly.

Karen flicked her thumb, sending the coin spinning up into the air. She caught it deftly and slapped it to her arm. She cupped her hand as she peeked under it. Aeron smiled at the look of concentration on her face as she scrutinized it.

Jac nodded. "Well?"

"Tails." Karen said as she showed the coin on her arm. Indeed, the surface that showed was blank.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Jac asked with a grin. "Nova it is." Aeron nodded and hit a panel nearby, telling the others of the choice. They would get it ready for her, check it out completely before allowing her to bond with it. No one was going to take any chances with Jac just out of surgery.

"You need to recover a bit first." Karen said with a nod. "The quick heal works fast, but..." She shook her head.

"Thank you, Karen." Jac said with a smile. One that faded. "Can you talk about what happened?" Aeron stiffened, but Jac shook her head. "It's a girl thing, Aeron. She is hurting. I can help. I want to." She held out a hand and Karen took it again. Jac gave Karen's hand a squeeze and waited.

"I don't want to think about it, but everyone is pushing... I... It was during the War. I had been told of a job possibility." Karen said after a moment. "I was a refugee. My family..." She swallowed. "They didn't make it out of the habitat I grew up in."

"Oh Karen..." Jac's eyes misted and she gave the woman's hand another squeeze.

"I don't remember much after arriving at the interview location. Red light. Pain." She shook her head. "It's not... It's all a blur. I woke up here." She waved to indicate the dojo. "I have been here ever since."

"He didn't..." Jac said, horrified. "A human?" She demanded of Aeron who bowed his head.

"I..." Karen shook her head. "Nicholas was actually fairly kind, in an absent minded sort of way. He had a temper but he was careful. The others... were not always..." She swallowed. "I spent a lot of time getting patched up. I tried to escape a few times. I never got far. " Aeron kept his face under tight control but the white surged as his anger did.

"Oh no..." Jac's voice turned even more horrified. "No... Nonononono..." She pulled Karen close and hugged her tight.

"I think they intended me to bear more Tenno." Karen said sadly. "But I couldn't. I had been...hurt, you see... I had been evacuated for medical care." Jac gave a shrill cry and hugged her tight enough that Karen grunted. "Easy, Jac. My feelings on the leader are ambivalent. He was upset when I arrived. From what he said, I don't think they were supposed to grab me. I don't know."

"No loose ends either way." Aeron said, bending down to join the embrace. Karen stiffened, but relaxed. Aeron kept the embrace loose.

"It wasn't...bad...at first." Karen said slowly. "They were gentle. At first. Then... It was as if they just...stopped caring. They were not gentle after that." She bowed her head as Jac started to cry. "Hey..." She protested. "Jac, it's okay. Its past. It's done. They had stopped... what they were doing. They used me to clean. They didn't really need me to, but they couldn't let me go. Then one day, the leader, Nicholas came in with a silver thing in his hand. He put it on my neck and..." She shook her head. "It didn't hurt. And they never abused me after that."

"A silver thing on the neck?" Jac asked, face going white. "He _didn't_..."

"Sensei called it an 'enthrallment device'." Karen said softly. "When Sensei came after killing the renegades, he disabled me. My body was under something else's control. He cut deep, accidentally." She waved at her neck and Jac nodded, too stunned to show any more horror. "I am alive, and all I knew are dust and memories. This is not what I wanted, but I am glad I am here. Now. I am not a slave. Not a _thing_. I am Karen." She said fiercely.

"You put the strongest Tenno I have known to _shame_, Karen." Jac said softly, hugging Karen again. "I am _proud_ to call you friend."

"Jac?"A quiet voice pulled all eyes to the door where Amelia stood with Alicia.

"Nova." Jac said fiercely. "And anyone, _anyone_ who tries to hurt Karen again will answer to _me_." Her tone might have shattered rock.

"To _us_." Alicia said, her voice about as soft as Jac's. "How is the voice?"

"It was a surprise." Jac said quietly, hugging Karen again and letting her go. "But a welcome one. I don't feel any ache or discomfort. Is that the painkillers?"

"Some." Alicia said as she and Amelia stepped in. Aeron and Karen both moved away from the bed to let the medics close. "Your body will take some time to acclimatize fully to it's new situation. We think now might be the best time to get you into the warframe."

"Get it over with." Jac agreed. "So..."

"You are unhooked, Jac." Alicia said kindly as Amelia opened a hidden closet and pulled an unpowered wheelchair from it. "Can you sit up?" Jac sat up and teetered a bit. "Jac..." Alicia warned, but Aeron was in motion, grabbing Jac gently and holding her as she swayed a bit.

"A little dizzy." Jac said softly. "Thanks Aeron."

"Anytime." Aeron said quietly. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. His body wasn't reacting as it should. He helped her sit and let her swing her legs off the bed.

Jac remained still while Alicia undid the monitor lines that connected her to the medical equipment. Then, with Aeron's careful help, she stood. He didn't need to help her much.

"Well, I didn't fall on my face." Jac quipped as she took a slow step to where Amelia stood with the chair. Alicia and Aeron both hovered as she sat carefully. "Really, you two. I am not going to break!"

"No." Aeron said with a grin. "If you fall, you are far more likely to break the floor if you hit it with your head." Jac swatted at him playfully and he grinned as he dodged. "Slow." He stilled as a hand grabbed him from behind. The white surged inside him and he forced himself not to move, not to break the hold, or the arm that held him. Something... Who was growling? Him?

"I'll hold him, Jac..." Karen said with a grin in her voice. "_You_ beat him!"

"Karen..." Jac said urgently. "Let go!" The hand that held Aeron fell away and he forced himself to relax. "Aeron, it's okay."

"Too..." Aeron shook his head. "Too much... I am sorry, Jac... I... I can't..." He retreated towards the door. "I need...space..." A cry of dismay came from Karen, but Jac silenced her.

"It's not you, Karen." Jac said calmly. "Take what time you need, Aeron. I will wait for you. "

Aeron paused just outside the door, leaning against the wall, breathing hard. What had he been about to do? Hurt Karen? Kill Karen? He didn't know. He barely reacted as a huge presence made itself known to his senses.

"Aeron..." Sensei's voice was calm and serene. "Breathe. In, and out..." Aeron did as commanded, the air working into his lungs, dispelling his 'fight or flight' reflex. "She shouldn't have grabbed you."

"She didn't know any better." Aeron's voice sounded off to his ears. "Not her fault."

"Well, you just strained your voice again." Sensei said flatly. "Come along." The voice beckoned him on and he started off after it. "That's it Aeron, not far..." Sensei's calm words led Aeron's shambling steps into another room. "Jimmy? He had an episode and strained his voice."

"Lie down, Tenno Aeron." The voice of the cyborg medic was calm and assured as always. Aeron did as instructed. A sting on his shoulder told of an injection. "Rest Tenno. I will tend you."

"Sensei..." Aeron said through the waves of lethargy that suffused him. "I am not getting any better. Just a broken war machine..."

"Yes you are better, Aeron." Sensei disagreed quietly. "You don't see it, but we do. If Karen had grabbed you like that the first day you were here, she would be dead right now. You are better. You are not a machine, Aeron. You feel."

"Organic machine..." Aeron protested "Broken... Need a heart..."

"You have mine, Aeron." Jac's worried voice came from nearby. "Now and always." A hand took his and a kiss found his cheek. "Rest. Sleep. I will be here when you wake."

He did as ordered.


	14. Chapter 14

**Repercussions**

Aeron was dreaming. He had to be. But it was such an odd dream. He was lying on something that gave beneath him as he moved slightly. He cracked his eyes and he was wearing a Tenno bodysuit. He was lying underneath something that looked like a tree. Or...sort of like a tree. It wasn't white, or blue or any of the colors of plant life in any of the Orokin facilities he had seen. It was brown and green and the leaves were changing color from green to brownish red. He stared up at it for a moment and then down at what he was lying on. It was green. He stared at it, bemused. Was this grass? There were things in places on various habitats he had been on that people called grass, but they looked nothing like this. This was lush, not sparse and growing in odd places wherever it could find sun and nutrients. He shook his head, this was really weird. He reached down and plucked a blade of grass, then froze as it vanished into pixels in his hand.

"A virtual world." Aeron said slowly. "A prison?"

"No. A place of rest." Another voice sounded from nearby. Aeron should have felt fear as a new form appeared close by. He didn't. He felt...at peace. The male Tenno wore a Volt warframe, but carried no weapons. Wait? Was it a Volt? It had gold in odd places along it's structure. Some kind of Prime? "Hello Aeron." The other Tenno said in a kind voice.

"Do I know you?" Aeron asked, bemused by the calm he felt and the lack of white. He wasn't afraid. If this odd Tenno _did_ wish him harm, Aeron had no chance. But he saw no hostility from the other's body language. Just sadness and a great peace.

"We personally have never met." The Volt said kindly. "But you met my wife. You did me a great service, all unknowing. I owe you, and I pay my debts."

"If I helped a brother in need, that is all the thanks I need." Aeron said with a shrug. "You owe me nothing."

"You don't remember." The Volt pressed. "They had to do it that way or causality might be threatened." Aeron stared at the other and the Volt snorted. "Never mind. Let's just say that _yes_, you did do something. You warned my wife and her friends than I might be unstable. They restrained me, helped me. Because of _you_."

"I am glad." Aeron said honestly. "We have lost enough kin as it is."

"Yes we have." Old pain sounded in the Volt's voice now. "We did everything we could, but it wasn't enough. Maybe you were right, what you said to Nyx. Maybe Orokin is a Phoenix. Or then again, maybe it's Hydra. I don't know..." He mused. "I am no philosopher. I am Tenno, no more, no less."

"These things I do not remember..." Aeron said quietly. "...are gone for a reason?" The Volt nodded. "Then why talk to me?"

"Things are different now." The Volt replied. "Something very bad is about to happen. And to understand why, you need to talk to someone else." He waved a hand and a golden orb spun into being nearby. The orb vanished and a male Tenno lay on the grass. The Volt's voice hardened. "Wake up, Nicholas."

"_Nicholas!_" Aeron was on his feet in a ready posture seconds while the hated name was still echoing. He paused as the Tenno on the ground jerked awake with a scream.

"No..." The form sobbed. "No more... Please..." He begged, rolling into a kneeling posture, his hand sup in supplication. "Please, guardian..."

"How many of your victims begged, Nicholas?" The Volt was implacable. "How many human and Tenno women did you put through _hell_ to try and reproduce?"

"Tenno?" Aeron asked, shocked despite his deserved anger.

"Tell him what you did." The Volt commanded. "Now."

"I..." Nicholas was sobbing as he lay back on the ground. "I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't _know!"_

"I am sure that is a great consolation to all your victims." The Volt snarled. "Talk now. Or I put you back in that orb for a few _more_ virtual centuries in isolation." Nicholas froze and shook his head. "Or would you prefer hellfire? I can get Ember. She would love to do that." The Volt said with another snarl. "You earned every ounce of pain we give you and far, far more. Tell him, Nicholas. Tell him about Karen."

"Karen?" Nicholas asked, his voice small. "I..." He looked at Aeron and paused. "Tenno, help me! I didn't mean it! I thought they were spies! I thought they were the enemy!" Aeron looked at the Volt who indicated for Aeron to speak. "I don't deserve this! I was trying to help my clan!"

"Nicholas." Aeron's voice was flat. "Traitor. Murderer. Thief. Slave master. I couldn't care less about your suffering. I _do_ care about Karen. What did you do to her?"

"No..." Nicholas screamed. "Don't make me remember!" He tried to flee, but a field of energy that shimmered gold barred his way. He snarled at the Volt. "Let me go or let kill me! Tenno are not monsters!"

"Coming from a Tenno who _was_ a monster?" Aeron asked softly, his voice low and dangerous. "That is saying something. What did you do to Karen?"

"They were not supposed to..." Nicholas said softly as he crumpled back to his knees. "They were supposed to talk to people, get a feel for who might be interested in helping. They were not supposed to get in a fight with another Tenno. They were supposed to avoid contact. Karen got caught in the cross fire. She was dying. None of them were medics. They retreated, and brought her back."

"To the dojo..." Aeron said slowly. "And the Tenno?"

"She wormholed, followed them into the portal." Nicholas said with a sigh. "What was I supposed to do?" He demanded. "She was an _intruder!_ She wouldn't _talk!_ She wouldn't even let me let _her_ leave! I didn't want to fight! She left me no choice!"

"You killed her." Aeron said in the silence that fell after the rants stopped. "That is where the Nova warframe in the supplies came from."

"No..." Nicholas said softly. "She was hit, bad. But her shields were strong. I didn't think any Tenno shields could withstand a gamma ray laser, but hers did. She got up! She was so strong... I... I disabled her and she broke my ice prison!" He said incredulously. "It took _all_ of us to club her unconscious and all of us were hurt in the process. Those antimatter particles hurt like _hell_."

"And then?" Aeron said, but a faint trace of unease started to sprout.

"She kept fighting." Nicholas said sadly. "Even after we got her out of her warframe, she kept fighting. Until we had Medic wipe her mind."

"_You what?_" Aeron shouted, his hands coming up to rend and tear. Nicholas didn't move to defend himself and Aeron struggled to contain his anger. "You wiped a _sister's_ mind because she wouldn't stop _fighting_? You... You..." Words failed him and he stepped back, shaking his head.

"'Idiot' is the word we use the most." The Volt said quietly. "His cyborg medic used Orokin tech to wipe our sister's mind. But he didn't know what he was doing. Their medical person had fled."

"Cora betrayed us." Nicholas said with snarl, only to writhe and scream again as the Volt played electricity over him.

"You speak when spoken to, traitor." The Volt said with a snap. "You have earned _so_ much more than I can give. But I am _always_ willing to hurt people like you. People for whom the end always justifies the means." The electricity cut off and Nicholas slumped to the ground, whimpering. "Scum like you killed Saryn. You have earned every ounce of pain we will give you and _so_ much more."

"What does this have to do with Karen?" Aeron asked when he was sure he had his anger under control. But part of him was enjoying seeing the hated renegade hurt. He stepped back from that. "She is not Tenno."

"No." The Volt said sadly. "Tenno are... a philosophy that became a way of life and then evolved into a whole new subspecies. We were human. Baseline, we still are." Nicholas jerked and opened his mouth, but froze when the Volt raised a hand. "Don't tempt me, traitor." The Volt warned. "Or I will give you to Banshee again." Nicholas went pure white at that and slumped back to the ground, silent. The Volt nodded and a smile was in his voice not. A not nice one. "Smart."

"Karen?" Aeron asked calmly.

"They wiped our sister's mind." The Volt said sadly. "She was a blank slate. And when they brought Karen out of her electronic limbo, she was nearly dead. Too far gone to revive even with Orokin tech. So, Bright Boy here had a brainstorm..." He snapped at Nicholas who cowered away.

"Oh no..." Aeron said, feeling faint. "He didn't..."

"Karen is in the body of our dead sister." The Volt said quietly, but anger was close to the surface. "She doesn't remember a lot. Much more than she thinks. They were going to use her for reproduction, but... either through happenstance or destiny or whatever... Our sister was sterile. Then the Sentient tech that this idiot was playing with did a lot of damage even before they shoved her into a cryopod. After?" He sighed. "She was and is a mess."

"So... our sister..." Aeron said slowly, shaking his head in horror.

"She is gone, Aeron." The Volt said sadly. "Beyond any chance of recovery. There is nothing left of her, not even a name." Aeron slumped and the Volt nodded. "I know."

"Whatever he is suffering is not _nearly_ enough." Aeron said, glaring at the now crying form of the traitor.

"Ah..." The Volt said with a smug snort. "But as long as Orokin exists in any way, he will remain trapped in this limbo. He cannot escape and we are here with him. He is not and will not be enjoying this afterlife." He said dryly. "But that brings us back to Karen. The present day Karen."

"You and your renegades used her for your needs." Aeron said sharply to Nicholas. "Why?" He demanded.

"She was the only female there. Lis wasn't awake. We didn't dare wake her with Karl prowling around. She loved him. We didn't think she was aware!" Nicholas protested. "Even before we enthralled her, she never responded when we talked to her. None of the them did. Yes, we used her. I made them be gentle with her and Servant!"

"Her_ name_ is Karen! The other one's _name_ is Mari! They _are_ not your slaves or toys." Aeron paused and his gaze turned thunderous. " The lack of self awareness makes it _all right?_" Aeron demanded, his ire up. "So if you drugged them into compliance that would be okay too?" He snarled and looked at the Volt. "It's _still_ non-consensual! Give me a _knife_! I want his privates to give to Karen, even if only virtually."

"Too late." The Volt said with a shrug. "Ember burned them off as soon as he arrived." Aeron stared at the Volt and against his will, shuddered. "Every time he regenerates, -which he does since he is immortal here- one of the girls takes them off again." Now _he_ shuddered. "Mag used a spoon... That girl _scares_ me."

"Works." Aeron snapped. He shook himself. "So... Karen is not Tenno. Then what is the problem?"

"Karen is depressed despite everything the clan has done for her." The Volt said softly. "She is stronger and faster than she remembers. She is able to do things she couldn't as a human. She thinks she is going mad. She is looking for a way out and thinks she has found one that does not involve making a mess for others to clean up. Such a considerate girl..." The Volt bowed his head.

"How?" Aeron asked slowly. "She can't open the airlocks. The weapons are strictly controlled and Miguel won't let her touch one without supervision. How?"

"It won't kill her." The Volt said sadly. "She thinks it will." Aeron went stiff. "Two warframes were prepared for Jac. Both of them ready for her imprint. They are persuading her to get into the Nova while you are asleep, to keep from stressing _you_. Once she imprints, she will sit with you and Karen will go for her final treatment. She left a note. That is how we know what she is going to do. She expects it to kill her."

"If she gets into the Mag warframe..." Aeron said with a wince.

"The Mag was assembled from parts. It will conform to her. Not immediately but quickly. Gently enough not to cause bodily harm." The Volt said softly. "But the neural imprint... She is not ready... At the very least, it will sear her brain, hurt her very badly. At worst? She goes mad."

"Wake me up." Aeron said with a snarl. "We can't lose her. Not that way."

"Time passes differently here. We have time. There is one more thing, Aeron..." The Volt sounded uncomfortable now. "I know what happened to you and why."

"What do you mean?" Aeron asked, quivering in his need to help Karen.

"You are not a berserker." The Volt said in a mild voice. "But you are descended from one. When they built the warframes... Some of who and what the originators were was infused into each warframe. It gives each of them a certain...feeling." Aeron nodded slowly. "Your Volt was built from plans of the original."

"I know."Aeron said dubiously. "What does that have to do with going berserk?"

"The original Volt was a berserker." The Volt said calmly. "_Is_ a berserker." Aeron stiffened and then his eyes went wide. "The feelings are there, the propensity for losing control is there. You can't wear a Volt warframe again, Aeron. Your are too sensitive to it. It will drag you in and pull you down until there is nothing left but the white rage."

"It doesn't feel like rage." Aeron said, feeling faint.

"It is." Volt, _the_ Volt -the first- said gently. "I will make sure that your medics find the proper files it would take them some time of searching the regular way. They are searching desperately for a way to help you."

"Good people." Aeron said softly. "I don't deserve them."

"Deserve has nothing at all to do with it, Aeron." Volt said gently. "And rest assured, _we_ are handling Nicholas." Other warframes appeared nearby and Nicholas cowered away from them as they surrounded him. "Just a thought..." Volt said speculatively. "Nicholas had a bunch of spares for his own warframe."

"A Frost Prime?" Aeron asked, dazed.

"My arguments with Frost are legendary." Volt said as a form separated from the pack. Saryn stood beside Volt, her arm going around his shoulders. "But he is a good Tenno. A solid and dependable brother."

"Will I remember this?" Aeron asked.

"Not all." Volt said with a shake of his head. "But enough to hopefully save Karen."

"She needs a purpose, Aeron." Saryn said quietly. "You can find her one. Help her if you can."

"I will." Aeron promised. "What do I do?" He asked carefully.

"Wake up." Volt said quietly. "And remember..." The word remember echoed through the area, chorused by all the warframes that surrounded Aeron now. Dozens, hundreds, _thousands_ of warframes, all chorusing the same word.

'Remember'

* * *

Aeron jerked awake, his heart thudding in his chest.

"Aeron?" Jac's voice was worried. He looked and she was nearby, her Nova warframe kneeling on the floor. "Aeron, it's okay. You are okay."

"I am." Aeron said urgently. "But Karen isn't. Is she still here?"

"They finished her treatment and she went to work." Jac said with a trace of caution. "Why?"

"I am not sure." Aeron said slowly. He tried to focus on why he was agitated, but every time he did, the memories faded. The urgency remained. "Terminal..." He rose from the bed, ignoring Jac's half stifled protest and walked to a nearby terminal. He keyed it up and froze. "Karen...sent me a message?" He read it and all the blood drained from his face. "This was supposed to go out tomorrow. Oh no..."

"What?" Jac came up behind him and read over his shoulder. "Oh my god..."

'My friends, my good friends, I am sorry. I cannot do this anymore. I am not strong enough. I won't make a mess, I promise. Live well, Aeron, Jac, everyone. This is timed to be sent after I... After I am gone. Be well. Be happy, my friends.'

It was signed, 'Karen'.

"She is going to suicide!" Aeron called. "Medical emergency! Find Karen!" He shouted.

"Karen is in the warframe storage bays!" Alicia called back. "How did she get in there? It's sealed!"

"The storage bays?" Those were four levels down in the dojo. "We will never get there in time!" Aeron said, grabbing for the wall to support him.

"Yes we will." Jac said with a snap. "Alicia, come here." Alicia ran in, her hands full of medical gear. She skidded to a stop as Jac threw her hand up and a portal winked into existence in front of her.

"Ah, Jac...?" Alicia said slowly. "We are not in warframes. Is wormholing safe for us?"

"Manual says it's stable. No radiation leakage detected, but... Safe isn't in our job description." Jac said with a snap as she grabbed Aeron around the waist and leaped through the portal.


	15. Chapter 15

**To stop a tragedy**

Aeron was violently sick as soon as he felt Jac's feet hit metal deck. The feeling of being stretched in many different directions at once was...bad to say the least. He barely noticed the silent rows of warframes and the neatly labeled shelves with parts for said warframes. He was too busy being sick.

"Sorry about that." Jac said apologetically as she held him so his stuff spewed on the floor instead of her.

"Find... Find Karen..." Aeron managed to grate out between bouts of nausea. "Stop her..."

"Karen?" Jac asked, looking around. Aeron assumed that her warframe sensors were also sweeping the area. "Karen, it's okay. I just want to talk." There was no answer. "Aeron..." Jac said, scared.

"Yuck..." Aeron said as he finally stopped spewing. "Let's not do that again anytime soon, okay?" He scrubbed his mouth with his sleeve, trying to get the acidic taste out of it. "Blegh..." He shook himself. "Ah..." He rose from his knees and looked around. "Karen? We know you are here. Please, talk to us." He begged.

"Leave me alone." The voice seemed to come from everywhere. Karen was either hiding in shadows, or... Aeron froze.

"Jac?" He asked slowly. "Can you detect her?"

"No." Jac said, perplexed. "I should be able to, but she is cloaked somehow. That shouldn't be possible. The only thing that can hide from a warframe's sensors is... another... warframe..." She broke off as both of them reached the same horrible conclusion. "_Karen!_" Jac screamed. "_Don't put on the helmet!_"

"You can't help me." Karen said with a snarl. Both of them turned to where a Mag warframe hung on a rack nearby. The helmeted head shook. "I am going mad. I can't handle this. I need an end." Aeron took a careful step towards the warframe and Karen snapped. "Don't!"

"Okay." Aeron took a slow step back. "Why do you think you are going mad, Karen?" He asked reasonably. Anything to calm Karen down, to keep Karen calm.

"I..." Karen swallowed heavily. "I went from medical, where Jimmy finally got my nerves to connect again, to physical therapy in an exercise room. All automated. I... I ran..." She said slowly." I outran the treadmill."

"Between Alicia, Amelia and Jimmy..." Jac said reasonably. "You will recover faster. You won't have a choice." Aeron nodded, not moving.

"You don't understand." Karen said softly. "I could _never_ move that fast. I tried hitting a bag set for a human of my mass and I knocked it off the _stand!_ It was set for humans and I knocked it off the stand!" The Mag's head swung again. "I asked Jimmy and he didn't understand my question. He asked if my body was unsatisfactory."

"Is it?" Jac asked carefully.

"_It's not my body, Jac!_" Karen screamed. "It doesn't feel the same. My hair is _finally_ coming back now that Alicia figured out how to stop the depilatory and it is the _wrong color_! Jac! I am insane!" Karen said sharply. Jac looked at Aeron, her helpless expression clear even through her solid faceplate.

"No, you are not." Aeron said quietly. "I don't know what is going on, Karen. But you are not insane. I am sorry I scared you, Karen. I didn't mean to."

"Not..." Karen gulped. "Not your fault. I shouldn't have touched you. Sensei explained."

"You had no way of knowing." Aeron said with a shake of his head. "I was doing so well. It not your fault I relapsed. Not your fault at all." He said gently. "Karen, please, don't leave us."

"Don't make this any harder than it is." Karen said sadly. "I need an end. I am not strong enough. You both say I am but I am _not_."

"Karen..." Aeron said heavily. "It won't work."

"What?" Karen asked, confused. "Yes it will. The backlash of energy when I do not accept the imprint will kill me." Jac inhaled, horrified, but Aeron just shook his head again. "What?" Karen demanded.

"Karen..." Aeron's voice turned super gentle now. "Warframes heal the occupant. That is what happened to Jac, why she survived being in a warframe that was unsuited for her anatomy. It will hurt you, very badly. But it will _not_ kill you. It _can't_. It is designed that way."

"Then it will hurt me and then heal me?" Karen asked slowly. Aeron bit his lip and she snapped. "What?"

"Karen..." Aeron said softly. "There are limits. Warframes can repair anything _physical_. They cannot repair mental damage. Damage which you will take over the neural feeds since you were not ready to assume the warframe yet. You will be a vegetable or the mad you fear. Karen, take off the helmet, please. Before the sequence starts."

"I..." Karen's voice turned terrified. "I already started it! It's waiting for the final command!"

"Karen!" Jac screamed as Aeron ran to the warframe. He dropped it from the rack and Karen collapsed boneless to the floor. Indeed, she couldn't move until the neural imprint occurred. And when it did...

"Help." Karen begged in a small voice. Aeron ran his hand along the back of the helmet and shook his head.

"It's sealed fully. We can't stop it now. We have time, if not a lot." Aeron said as he gathered the limp Mag up in his arms. "How long since you started the sequence, Karen?"

"As soon as you arrived." Karen said, her tone stark with fear. "Almost three minutes."

"The usual delay was five, in case the Tenno had to set his or her mind to receive the imprint." Aeron said softly. "It is going to hurt like your brains are on fire, Karen. But none of it is physical. Karen, _listen_ to me." He commanded as she started to cry. "You can do this. You can."

"I am not Tenno." Karen protested.

"You are now." Jac said with a sigh as she knelt beside the pair. "Listen to Aeron, Karen. He can help you through this." Aeron looked at Jac and his face was bleak. "Just relax, Karen. Listen to Aeron."

"Karen..." The male Tenno said softly. "Imagine yourself in a hallway. A dark, but not forbidding hallway. You know it. You know every nook, every cranny. It is a long hallway, and every ten feet, there are lights on the ceiling. Each is on a separate circuit. You can turn them on or off..." He kept his voice calm and serene as Karen slowly relaxed. "Imagine yourself walking down the hallway. As you approach each light, you turn it on. You are safe, you are calm."

"It..." Karen said in a daze. "I... I can see it... The hallway..." Then she convulsed in Aeron's arms and screamed as the neural binding started.

"Karen!" Jac exclaimed. "Aeron, the imprint! What can we do?" Aeron felt an overpowering calm descend on him.

"Jac, I need some power." Aeron said as he laid his hand on the twitching Mag's helmet, his hand finding a neural access port. "As much as you can spare." He undid his bodysuit's gloves.

"For?" Jac asked as she opened a power port on her warframe. Nova warfames had a lot of them, but then again, Novas _rarely_ had any problems with generating power. Antimatter and all.

"If this doesn't work, take care of her, Jac." Aeron said and, before she could react, clamped his bare hand on the port.

"_Aeron, you are not in a warframe!_" Jac screamed in terror as the mighty torrent of power from her reactors found a path of lesser resistance. Through his body. It surged through him and into Karen's head, taking part of the white in his mind with it. Then the pain hit and he was swept away by it.

* * *

"That was very brave." A gentle female voice sounded in Aeron's ears. He looked up to see a Trinity warframe bending over him. The ceiling overhead was white and gold. Her finger was on his forehead and energy played from it. "So very brave, Aeron." This wasn't anyone he knew. Indeed, the warframe was chased with gold. But it didn't matter. Only one thing did.

"Karen...?" He managed to croak out. Nothing hurt, but he was so weak.

"She lives and her mind is intact." The Trinity said calmly. "You did well. Using your problem as a shield for her mind was inspired. Did you know it would work?" Aeron tried to shake his head and he couldn't. "Easy, Aeron." She cautioned him. "You just put yourself through a wringer. "

"Didn't know if it would work or not. I was out of options." Aeron said softly. "Wait... Jac? She will go nuts..." He felt worry, and wonder of wonders, the white did not hinder it.

"She is no longer your problem, Aeron." The Trinity said kindly. "You have earned your rest, Tenno."

"I can't leave Jac again..." Aeron protested. "I promised her."

"Is that the only reason?" The Trinity asked, curious. "An oath?" Aeron stared at her and he could swear she was smiling. "Well?" She prompted him.

"No." Aeron said with a small smile of his own. "But I had to work my way to it myself, didn't I?" She nodded and he sighed. "I am an idiot."

"Everyone is at times, brother. And yes, everyone finds their own way. Deep breath and hold it." The Trinity said with a snort as she held out a hand. Green mist flowed around him and he did not breathe as it seeped around him. "That's it. I have done what I can." She said as she retracted her hand. "We need to finish this."

"Jac..." Aeron said, his heart aching.

"Hang on Aeron, I will bring her and..." The Trinity gasped softly. "And now that she made physical contact, slapping Karen, I can bring them both." She sighed. "My kin, can you separate them, gently...?" She admonished someone Aeron couldn't see.

Suddenly the air was filled with profanity. Jac was swearing up a storm.

"Let me _go!_" Jac screamed. "I'll kill you! You stupid, good for nothing _arrogant_ selfish pile of refuse! I will rip your ears off and _eat_ them! Then your eyes! _Then_ your fingers! In a warfame or out, I _will_ kill and eat you!"

"Jac..." Karen was begging. "I am sorry."

"Sorry?" Jac exclaimed. "You killed the man I love and you are _sorry? I will show you sorry!_"

The sound of a blow came to Aeron's ears and he managed to roll on his side to see Jac in the hands of a huge Tenno wearing a Rhino warframe. It wasn't Sensei. The warframe was...different. Like the Trinity, it had gold in places. Jac was struggling for all she was worth to get free, her hands and feet striking the Rhino with no apparent effect. He appeared to be ignoring her attacks even though each one set his armor to ringing. The Mag that was Karen knelt on the floor, unmoving. A Banshee warframe was holding her, gently it seemed. The Banshee was...off as well. Other warframes surrounded the group, many of them with gold in strange places. The Trinity looked at Aeron, her posture expectant and he sighed.

"Jac, calm down. She would taste terrible." Aeron said quietly when Jac finally took a breath. Suddenly, there was dead silence in the room.

"Aeron...?" Jac's tone was hushed, scared. "I... How? You... You flatlined..." She was crying now. "You died."

"Not quite." The Trinity said calmly. "And not for lack of his trying." She said with a snap to Aeron. "That was very brave and very _stupid_, Aeron."

"Thin line between the two, Ma'am." Aeron said with smile. "A very thin line." His breath was coming in gasps now. "Jac, come here." The Rhino set Jac down on her feet. She knelt and crept to Aeron's side on her hands and knees. "I... I need to see your face..." He said softly.

"Aeron..." Jac said softly. "I..." Her hands came up and her faceplate slid back. She was red faced. Tears had been falling for some time, long enough for some to dry. But she had never looked prettier, to his eyes anyway.

"Karen..." Aeron held out a hand to Jac and another that shook he held in mid air. Jac took his hand and cradled it close.

"I..." Karen said from her spot. "I am sorry, Aeron..."

"Karen." Aeron commanded in a weak voice. "Come here." The Banshee let her go and Karen crept to Aeron's side, staying as far from Jac as she could. "It was _my_ choice, Jac." Aeron said, gasping. "She was stupid, but it wasn't her fault. As for what I did? If you had thought of it first, I would be grieving for _my_ love."

"Your..." Jac froze, her face scared. "_What_ did you say?"

"Shut up and kiss me." Aeron said with a snap. He pulled Jac close and held her against him while he did what he could. Which wasn't much, he was totally inexperienced and very weak. Finally he let her pull away. "Wow. Jac of the Tenno at a loss for words..." Aeron said with a smile at her expression. "I wish I had a camera. No one will ever believe it. The mind _boggles_..."

"You..." Jac sounded unsure, childlike. "I..."

"I have been selfish and stupid, Jac." Aeron said with a sigh. "Now, I can say it: I love you, Jac." Her face lit up and he nodded. "But now there is something we need to do." Jac looked at him and then they both looked at Karen who recoiled a bit.

"What?" Karen asked slowly. Aeron extended the hand she had not yet taken further towards her.

"You are going to need a lot of help, Karen." Aeron said with a sigh. "I will have hurt you, saving you. I don't know if I can go back or not." Jac stiffened in rebellion, but Aeron continued. "Jac, it isn't her fault. She is alone and scared. Karen... Come here." He beckoned to her and she sidled closer, like a dog that had been badly beaten. Wanting to trust, but not totally sure she could. "This is _your_ choice, Karen."

"What choice?" Karen asked as she stopped just out of reach, not moving.

"You lost your family." Jac said, her tone soft and sad now that her anger had spent itself. "We are offering you a new one. The warframe you wear makes you one of us, Karen. But it is an awful responsibility. A terrible burden."

"I..." Karen shook her head. "I never...It was supposed to kill me..." She said, dazed.

"It didn't." Aeron said, feeling faint. "We offer you a place where people take you for who you are. Not what, but who." He smiled at Jac who nodded. "I love Jac, but I also love you, Karen. The loves are different, but no less real. Come, Karen. Join us."

"You hurt yourself, saving me." Karen's voice was sad now. "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to..."

"I know, Karen." Aeron said with a sigh. "It's not your fault. Nothing that has happened to you is your fault. Well..." He corrected himself with a smile. "Except nearly frying your synapses in a purloined warframe, but hey... Nobody's perfect." He said with a laugh. Karen reached up slowly and her helmet retracted. She too had been crying. "Don't cry, sister. It's all right." Aeron promised.

"I...feel..." Karen slumped a bit. "This... Strange..."

"Is it white?" Aeron asked carefully.

"Just a little." Karen said slowly, thinking hard. "It is dulling the edges of my emotions, but doesn't take them away."

"Jac?"Aeron asked softly. "Do you mind sharing me?"

"Aeron!" Jac snapped. "After all this time waiting? What kind of a question is _that_? I will take what I can get!" She reached out and took Karen's limp hand and pulled her close. "You need help and I am offering. I am sorry I was angry with you, Karen. As Aeron says, it isn't your fault."

"Jac." Aeron said softly. "I may not be able to come back from this." He paused as a throat cleared nearby. All three looked up to see the circle of Tenno had withdrawn, but the Trinity stood nearby with a Volt in the same gold. "Yes?" He inquired politely.

"Your body can be healed, Aeron." The Trinity said calmly. "You depleted your mental energy reserves badly however."

"I see." Aeron said with a wince. That might kill him anyway, if his brain couldn't keep up the charge to function.

"Does he need a jump start?" Jac asked. "I have power..."

"Someone else will provide it." The Volt said with a sour laugh. "And it may provide a little bit of closure to Karen."

"Me?" Karen asked with a squeak.

"Yes, Karen." The Trinity said sadly. "You were hurt and abused. You were tortured and enslaved. All because of one insane Tenno." A small gold sphere appeared in her hand. Suddenly it became transparent and a form was seen beating on the inside of the sphere. Karen recoiled.

"That... No..." Karen was shaking as both Aeron and Jac held her. "That is Nicholas? He is _not_ dead?"

"Oh, he is dead." The Volt said with a sour laugh. "Karl made _very_ sure of that. But any Tenno who inhabits a warframe leaves traces of him or herself in places that can be reached by those with the knowledge. This is all that is left of him." He waved at the sphere. "We will use his energy to heal Aeron." The imprisoned Tenno was screaming and beating harder on the walls of his spherical prison, but no sound was heard.

"Will that destroy him?" Karen asked, her tone sharp.

"No." The Volt said with sigh. "But I can guarantee you he will not enjoy it. And he will never leave that prison if we have _anything_ to say about it. _And_ our computations show it will take him about three hundred years of regeneration for him to be able to summon the energy to _converse_, let alone do anything else." He said dryly. "Short of dropping it into the sun, which we did consider by the way... This may be the best use of a bad being."

"To save a life." Karen breathed. Then she smiled. "I like it. I will not be him."

"Good." The Volt's words were heartfelt. "_One_ sadistic Mag is more than enough." Something hit him from behind and he sighed as he pulled a Kunai throwing blade from a non-vital spot. "See?" He asked as a wicked chuckle came from the massed warframes.

"What do we do?" Jac asked as Karen came close to Aeron again. All three shared a hug.

"You don't need to do anything, Sister Jac." The Trinity said gently. "You won't remember most of this. But do try to be careful with Sister Karen. New sisters bruise and break easily." She came close and held the sphere over Aeron, A golden mist came from it and saturated all off three of them. Then, like a waft of breeze, they were gone.


	16. Chapter 16

**Waking up, after**

Aeron hurt. Every fiber of his body was on fire. It was too much to ignore, too much to move past. All he could do was writhe. He opened his eyes, but saw only black. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He was...alone. Why was he alone? What had happened? Where was he? Everything hurt and he...

"Oh my god!" Alicia's voice was sharp and agonized. "_Aeron!_ What the hell?" Aeron clung to her voice. Anything to stave off the pain. "No..." She begged him. "Don't try to move, Aeron. Easy..." Numbness swept across him and he sighed in relief as the pain that had been every bit of him vanished. "Better?"

"Better. Can't see." Aeron agreed but then memory returned. "Wait... Karen...in the Mag." He pleaded.

"Karen? She is...in a warframe? _How_ ?" Alicia said after a moment. "Oh, yeah... What a _stupid_ way to try suicide." Something whirred, probably a medical scanner. "She is alive. The imprint didn't kill her. I am... What the-?" Now her voice turned sharp ."What the hell did you _do_?" She demanded of Aeron.

"Karen..." Aeron begged. He couldn't get the words to come out quite right. It wasn't his voice, no... It was something in his head. Maybe. He struggled to sit up but managed only to flop on his side. "Karen..." He begged, his voice slurring.

"Aeron, _don't_ move." Alicia said with a snap. Gentle but irresistible hands took hold and moved him so he was lying on his back again. "You have second and third degree burns on your hands and an arc of burn through your body. Don't move." She commanded. "If you move, you may start to bleed internally."

"Had to protect Karen..." Aeron said softly. "Not her fault..."

"No, not her fault." Jac's dazed voice sounded from nearby. "She was confused and terrified. Not her fault, Alicia."

"What did Aeron do?" Alicia demanded. "Karen is unconscious, but she should wake shortly. I don't detect any neural trauma at all. There is always neural trauma with an imprinting, even when one is prepared. There isn't _any_."

"Aeron asked me for power." Jac said softly, her voice taut with fear. "He had hold of one of Karen's neural ports. He grabbed my power jack barehanded."

"He _what?_" Alicia demanded, her voice shrill. "No wonder he is burned. Aeron, you idiot! That power arc should have killed you!"

"I don't know what happened." Jac said softly. "I was... I thought he was dead. I hit her...The feedback must have knocked both of us out." Her voice was apologetic. "I am sorry, Karen." She pleaded.

"Not your fault, Jac..." Aeron said as clearly as he could. "Come here." He tried to move a hand and pain shot through him again. He groaned.

"What part of 'don't move' do you not understand? Your hands are burned." Alicia said with a snarl. "Do it once more and I am paralyzing you before you hurt yourself further." Numbness swept through him again and he relaxed.

"I am here, Aeron." A gentle hand caressed Aeron's cheek. Even through a warframe, Aeron could feel her warmth. It warmed him in ways he had never understood. Until now.

"I have a gurney on the way." Alicia said after another moment. "Don't move, Aeron. I mean it." Something touched his head. "You should be able to see now. " He cracked his eyes and Alicia was bending near. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Jac?" Aeron asked as groan sounded nearby. Karen. "Be my hands?"

"Of course." Jac said softly. The touch caressed his cheek and then was gone. He closed his eyes, keeping them open was hard. "Easy Karen. It's okay." Jac's voice was soft and gentle. He could imagine her kneeling beside the still Mag warframe, soothing their frightened sister. "Easy..." She crooned.

"I am sorry." Karen cried, abject. "Aeron, Jac, I am sorry..."

"Don't cry, Karen." Aeron said with a sigh. "It's all right." He cracked his eyes again and they worked. Everything was blurry, but it focused.

Alicia was kneeling beside him, her face intent. Karen's warframe lay in a heap nearby. Jac was squatting beside the other warframe, her hands soothing the sobbing younger woman. But it was the huge dark shadow at the door that held Aeron's attention. Even through his warframe, it was easy to see that Sensei was not happy.

"Not her fault, Sensei." Aeron pleaded. "She thought she was going mad. She wasn't, was she?" He asked.

"No." Sensei said as he stepped in, his posture easing. "Do you take responsibility for her?"

"I do."Aeron said formally. "Well, Jac will help, I hope."

"Of _course_ I will." Jac said irritably. "I need to stay close to you or who knows what you will do next?"

"Probably something stupidly brave." Aeron said with a soft chuckle that hurt. He winced and Alicia looked thunderous. "I am not moving!" He pleaded as she reached for her belt.

"And you don't take direction well." Alicia said with a snort. "Take it easy, Aeron. You are badly hurt. You don't feel it through the painkillers but you _are_. The sooner you are in medical and we can treat you, the better I will feel."

"I wear a Volt warframe, Alicia." Aeron said quietly. "I know what happens to unshielded skin when raw power hits it."

"Um..." She swallowed heavily and shook her head. "We will talk about that later. The good news is that your heart and lungs seem to have escaped relatively unscathed." Alicia said with a sigh. "Your voice is slurred and...well... Your hands? We shall see." Aeron carefully did not look at his hands.

"There is something we need to do first." Aeron said softly. Alicia looked at him and nodded. "Karen, you need to exit your warframe."

"_My_ warframe?" Karen asked, stunned.

"You imprinted on it. No one else can wear it while you live, Karen." Aeron said quietly. "Yes. It is yours." He looked at her without moving his head, her hands were seeking a seam. There wasn't one.

"I... I don't know how..." Karen said softly. "I never expected... I mean... It was supposed to kill me..."

"It didn't." Aeron said kindly. "We will teach you what you need to know. And with a warframe, you will learn very quickly indeed. But some things need to be done outside of the warframe first. Jac... If you would demonstrate?" Jac nodded and stepped to an empty rack. She backed into it. "Do what Jac does, but find an empty rack."

"Okay." Karen said, rising slowly and carefully. She walked to an empty rack and backed into it. She gave a squeak as the rack's mechanical arms reached out to take hold of her.

"Don't struggle." Jac cautioned her. Karen froze in place. "The arms are supports, no more. You can and _will_ break them if you struggle." She snorted. "I bet Sensei wouldn't like that."

"Miguel would like it less, since he would have to fix them." Sensei said from his spot near the door.

"What do I do?" Karen nearly begged.

"You saw how it opened?" Aeron asked encouragingly. Karen nodded. "See it that way. In your mind. You know the hall I was describing? Can you find it again?"

"I can." Karen's voice went far away. "I am in the hall... It... The warframe is there..."

"You can change things in that hall, Karen." Aeron said calmly. "See the warframe open. From the back of the head all the way down your neck to your shoulders, down your arms, down your back, and then down each leg all the way to the feet."

"I..." Karen gave another squeak as the warframe suddenly halved. Jac had exited her own warframe and helped Karen out of hers. "That was...really weird." Karen said slowly, holding onto Jac for support. She wore a Tenno style bodysuit, but that was nothing new, most of the residents of the dojo did.

"You will get used to it." Aeron promised her but then his tone hardened. "Karen. You scared us all."

"I know." The newest Tenno in the room said in an abject voice.

"I have responsibility for you, Karen." Aeron said firmly. "To teach, to nurture and to discipline. Do you accept my responsibility?"

"What do I say?" Karen asked. "I don't know what to say..." She begged.

"You have two choices. 'Yes' or 'No', Karen." Aeron said quietly. "If you say 'Yes' then I am liable for any mistakes you make, so I will do my darndest to keep you from making any more like this."

"And if I say 'No'?" Karen asked softly.

"We won't kill you and you won't suffer." Sensei said softly.

"Sensei." Aeron said sharply. "With all due respect, if she is my responsibility, then she is _my_ responsibility." Alicia glared at him and he sighed. Sensei looked at him and then nodded. Aeron spoke again, in earnest. "Karen, please. We do love you. Don't leave us or make us take your choices from you. We would have to confine you to an electronic limbo and I do not want to do that." He begged. "Please?" Karen stared at him and then bowed her head.

"I... I say 'Yes'." Karen said softly. "What do I do?" Aeron relaxed a little.

"Alicia, I need to touch her." He said quietly. Alicia made a put upon noise, but her eyes were glistening as she knelt down beside him, her hands gentle as she moved his hand. Fire burned through his veins as she did, but he kept the pain at bay. "Jac...?"

"Come, sister Karen." Jac said in a very formal voice. "Come meet your destiny." Aeron watched as Jac led the stumbling Karen to kneel beside him. Seiza posture did not come natural to her, but she was a fast learner. Jac only had to correct a few points. He carefully did not look at his hand as he reached out and took her hand in his. It hurt, but not that bad.

"Sister Karen." Aeron said formally. "You come to us from sorrow and pain. You come from grief and fear. You choose to join us?" He asked. Karen nodded and he smiled. "You need to speak aloud, Karen. Just say 'Yes'. No need for overly formal language." His dry tone brought a small smile to Karen's face.

"Yes." Karen said softly but clearly.

"The Way of the Tenno is filled with pain and fear, Sister Karen." Aeron said calmly. "All too often it is cut short. Our enemies are many and multiplying while our numbers dwindle with each passing solar revolution." He closed his eyes for a moment and when he spoke it was sad. "We cannot replace what you lost. We can only do our best to aid you, guide you, teach you. We will do everything we can, but in the end, the only one who can make you everything you should be... is you, Sister Karen." He shook her limp hand.

"I understand." Karen said quietly.

"Not all of us follow the Way that Karl Sensei embodies, Karen." Aeron said slowly. "You must find your own Way, although Karl Sensei's Way has much to recommend it. I do not follow his Way, but there is overlap between his and mine. Loyalty, Karen." Karen stared at him, her eyes wide. "Your loyalty _must_ be to the Tenno. No one else. You have seen firsthand what happens when one puts himself before his brethren."

"I have." Karen met his gaze calmly. "I... I do know words for this..." She said softly. Aeron nodded to her despite his pain and Alicia's hiss of disapproval. "My sword, my soul, my life, my death. I swear loyalty to the Tenno. From now until I pass beyond this form, I will be true to our kin. Or my own blade will end me for the dishonor."

"Well said, Sister Karen." Aeron said as a murmur of approval came from the others. "As I am incapacitated, Tenno Jac will instruct you. She will also administer your first punishment."

"For what I did." Karen said softly. "For taking the warframe." She steadied herself and nodded. "I am ready to accept punishment, Brother Aeron."

"We are hard, but not cruel." Aeron replied easily. "Rules have a purpose. You will show the others how you got in here so the security leak can be plugged. But for scaring us..." He reached out and tapped her nose. Pain flared in his blackened fingers, but he had to smile as Karen's eyes crossed. "That is for scaring us. Jac... Take our sister in hand and see to her punishment. Then, the minimum. Ten." Jac raised an eyebrow and Aeron grimaced. "Can you can do it, Jac?"

"I can." Jac said sadly. "I would rather not, but I can."

"Ten what?" Karen asked, her gaze fearful.

"Ten lashes, Karen." Aeron said quietly. "To remind you the cost of being selfish." Karen gulped and Aeron sighed. "Karen, we _cannot_ be selfish. Even the most jaded and mercenary Tenno _cannot_ only think of themselves. We are _all_ we have, Karen. Every action has a consequence, Karen. Each warframe has the power to fight armies and win, Karen. It is a horrible burden, but one we shoulder. For if we do not, who will?"

"I understand." Karen replied softly. She bowed her head "I will not dishonor you again, Brother Aeron."

"I hope not." Aeron said with a sigh. "I face Jac when I get out of medical."

"What?" Karen asked, confused by his tone. "What do you mean _you_ face her?"

"_Your_ administrative punishment will be decreed and administered by Tenno Jac, Sister Karen." Aeron said formally. "The lashes are for me."

"_What?_" Karen nearly jumped to her feet, only to freeze at a warning cough from Jac. "No... I..."

"You will attend the punishment, Karen." Aeron said calmly. "You will watch while Jac whips me. I am responsible for you. Everything you have done and will do until you are trained to mine and Sensei's satisfaction is _my_ responsibility. You put on a warframe without authorization. Ten lashes is the minimum punishment for such a crime. You are young and inexperienced and were not planning to steal it, so...the minimum is enough."

"I can do it, Aeron." Sensei said into the silence that fell. "There is no need to make Jac do it."

"She is going to want to hit me anyway." Aeron said with a sigh. "I put her through hell. I am sorry, Jac."

"My jokes about whips to the contrary... I don't like them." Jac said quietly. "But I can do it."

"I know." Aeron said in a sad voice. "I know you can, Jac. The woman I love can do anything she puts her mind to." Jac froze and a pin dropping in the room would have sounded like a grenade going off. "And me without a camera." Aeron quipped. "Jac speechless? The mind boggles."

"You... I..." Jac shook her head. "What?"

"Karen was selfish and a bit stupid for a short while." Aeron sad with a sigh. "I have been selfish and stupid for a long, long time. It is time I put it right." He raised his hand slowly and Jac took it carefully. "I do love you, Jac of the Tenno. Please forgive my silliness and stupidity." He closed his eyes, regret and remorse climbing.

"Only if you forgive mine." Jac whispered as she knelt down beside him. "We have much to talk about. But first, you have healing and I will see what Sensei has in the way of punishments here." They both paused as Karen spoke again.

"It's not right..." Karen said softly. "I messed up. Punish me. Whip _me_." She begged.

"No, Karen." Aeron said in a soft, but firm voice. "I am responsible for you." He smiled at her. "Trust me, you won't enjoy whatever Jac and Sensei come up with for a punishment. But this is to show you how we handle things. If I take responsibility, I take it all. The good and the bad."

"But..." Karen was crying softly. "It's not right."

"Right and wrong don't come into it, Karen." Aeron said gently as the door beside Sensei opened and a gurney entered, followed by Amelia. She gasped on seeing Aeron but did not speak, instead joining Alicia at his side.

"We need to get him up." Alicia said quietly. "On three." Arms eased under him from several bodies and he braced himself. Despite the painkillers, Aeron's training and his stubbornness, the shock of movement sent a roar of pain through him. The last thing he heard before passing out was his own scream of pain.


	17. Chapter 17

**When you anger a Tenno...**

Aeron was dimly aware of things at times. At one point, he was floating in something that was warm. It was quiet and calm and he reveled in the feelings. But then, he was lying on something while surgically garbed forms moved around him. Then it all went away.

Aeron came back to himself lying on a bed. He felt wires and tubes, but none of that mattered. The cool gas that was playing into his nostrils didn't matter. All that mattered was the still form that sat nearby. Jac looked like hell. He tried to reach for her and paused when his hand only moved a little. He looked down. He had all his fingers, but they were covered in organic bandages. Nothing hurt, but the memory of pain echoed through him.

"Don't." Jac said sadly. "Don't move too fast." Aeron remained still while her hand came down and cupped his. "We nearly lost you." She said sadly.

"You didn't." Aeron expected a rasping voice, but it sounded normal to his ears. "How long?"

"You have been out for two days." Jac said as she gently caressed his hand. "The external burns were bad enough, but you hurt yourself internally too. They weren't...They were not sure you would wake up." She dashed her hand across her face and snarled. "I will not cry... I will not..."

"Jac." Aeron said kindly. "It's okay. No one will say anything. You can be yourself here." He said quietly as she stared at him. "And I do love you." She lost her battle and tears started falling. "Come here, girl..." He said softly and she eased herself closer so he could lay his arm around her shoulder. "Easy, Jac... I am not dead and neither is Karen." He paused. "How _is_ Karen?"

"She is...coping." Jac said with a nod. "We don't leave her alone for long. Even when we must, we have her under observation. She is handling it well. But she is also researching the Code, trying to find something that will let me punish her instead of you."

"I took responsibility." Aeron said with a shrug. Something hurt and he grunted. Jac was staring at him and he shook his head.

"Aeron?" Jac's voice was taut again. "How bad?"

"On a scale of one to ten? About a eight." Aeron admitted. "In the chest."

"Your heart and lungs took damage." Jac said softly. "Alicia and Amelia won't tell me exactly how bad it was, but I can read a med readout fairly well for not being a professional. You nearly died on the table while they were operating on you, Aeron. Fixing your internal injuries."

"I didn't." Aeron said frankly. "Jac?"

"Yes, Aeron?" Jac asked, bringing his hand slowly up to her face and cradling it against her cheek.

"When I get out of here, you and I will find a room." Aeron said with a smile as her expression changed to incredulous. "I need some...education. Do you think you can provide it?" He asked as her cheeks slowly turned red.

"Ah, Karen has been staying with me." Jac said slowly. "She needs the companionship, the stability. There is nothing between us, but..."

"Would you mind sharing me?" Aeron asked. He paused as Jac gasped. "Did I ask you that before?" He asked, curious. Jac shook her head and Aeron shook his. "I could swear I did, but whatever." He waited for Jac to answer.

"I want to be selfish." Jac admitted. "I want you all to myself. But Karen needs us. Now more than ever." Her face turned sad.

"Do I want to know?" Aeron asked slowly. Jac shook her head. "But I need to, don't I?" Jac nodded, silent. "Go ahead." The reclining Tenno said with a sigh.

"The Nova warframe that I imprinted on came from a sister who attacked Nicholas' renegades while they were out looking for 'volunteers'." Jac's voice was dead of emotion. Aeron shuddered. She only got that way when she was beyond angry. "She got into the dojo, avoided or disabled the security systems and fought her way almost all the way to Nicholas before falling."

"They killed her?" Aeron breathed, horrified.

"Worse." Jac said sadly. "They pulled her from her warframe and wiped her mind." Aeron went still at that. Such a horrible fate. Everything that sister had been, gone. Jac took a shuddering breath and Aeron gave her hands a squeeze. "Karen had been one of the humans they had been interviewing. She was caught in the crossfire and hurt very badly. They brought her back, but she was too far gone. So they put her mind in our sister's body. A human in a Tenno's body. Small wonder she was confused and thought she was going insane."

"My god..." Aeron said softly. "Is she.. I mean... Does she know?"

"As soon as we discovered what happened, Sensei and I told her." Jac said sadly. "She took it fairly well. She cries a lot, but no one blames her at all. She wants to swear to you."

"To _me_?" Aeron asked slowly. "_Not_ to Sensei?" Then he paused and smiled. "Oh, sneaky girl..." Retainers had the right to take punishments for this sworn masters. Aeron could take any punishment for Sensei if the Elders decreed it and Aeron felt it was unjust. He looked at Jac whose face was carefully blank. "You didn't... um... direct her studies that way, did you?"

"No." Jac admitted. "Although the thought of her becoming your retainer and being able to take any punishment for her master does have a certain appeal, its dishonorable sophistry."

"Good." Aeron said with a smile. "I would hate to have Sensei order you to whip yourself." He said with a grin, but it was a sober one. As he had said, Tenno were very strict. Hard, but fair. He felt sleep coming and fought it back. "I am going under, Jac."

"You need rest to heal." Jac said softly. "I will be here."

"Don't drive yourself crazy, Jac." Aeron said as sternly as he could. "We will...talk some more when I wake up again. But don't just sit here looking at me, Jac." He smiled and squeezed her hand again. "We have a lot to talk about, but go do something. I bet you are bugging the docs." Jac looked sheepish and Aeron grinned. "You are, aren't you?"

"I...uh..." Jac shook her head. 'They wanted me to rest. I slept, but..."

"Come here." Aeron waited until Jac was close and then leaned up and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Consider that a down payment on the debt I owe you." She kissed his cheek in return.

"I will find something to do." Jac promised Aeron as she sat back.

"The world have changed, Jac." Aeron said on the edge of sleep. His eyes closed on their own. "Find out how much..."

"I will." Jac promised, her voice serene as a kiss landed on his forehead and then he was asleep.

* * *

"We have to tell him!" An urgent voice had Aeron waking up a little. Karen? She sounded as if she was in tears. "We have to. If he finds out that we didn't..."

"Karen, come on!" Alicia's voice was low, but sharp. "Do not disturb him. He isn't healed, not yet. Damn it! He is waking. Get out!" She commanded. A gulp sounded and a door hissed open and shut. "It's all right, Aeron. Go back to sleep." Alicia said gently. "It's okay."

"You have never lied to me before, Alicia." Aeron said, his eyes shooting open. "Don't start now. And if I suddenly fall asleep in the middle of this conversation, I will remember." He promised her. "What has happened?"

"I..." Alicia shook her head. "We don't know. Jac and Two went out on a mission, to get Jac acclimatized to the new situation. Two came back hurt." Aeron felt his guts clench.

"Jac?" Aeron heard someone else ask in a calm voice using his mouth. He was far too stunned to react.

"Two says she was taken prisoner, but what she says makes no sense." Alicia bit her lip. "The Stalker doesn't take prisoners." Aeron stared at Alicia and then he slowly sat up. "Aeron..." She warned him, but he just shook his head.

"Get me into my warframe and the rest of my injuries will heal." Aeron said calmly. Far, far more calmly than he felt. The anger that he expected didn't sound in his voice. Instead, the white surged back in his head. But this time, instead of fearing it, he embraced it.

"We...can't..." Alicia slowly raised her hands in a warding gesture as Aeron looked at her. "We can't, Aeron! If you put on your warfame... You won't be able to resist, not as angry as you are at the moment. Aeron, please..." She begged. "The clan is gathering. We will get her back."

"Aeron." Sensei's voice came from the door. He turned to see the Tenno who led the clan standing in the door, clad in his warframe. "Alicia... leave." Alicia bolted for the door Aeron just sat and waited even though every nerve quivered. "She is right, Aeron." Sensei said quietly. "We found some records. Ancient records. We don't know how to fix it, yet. But the base cause is genetic."

"Stalker took Jac." Aeron said in a quiet, deadly tone. "He wants his scythe back, doesn't he?" Sensei nodded and Aeron took a deep breath. "Are we going to argue?"

"We are preparing another warframe for you." Sensei said quietly. "A Loki. Jac's Loki actually."

"If I show up in anything but a Volt, Sensei, he will kill Jac." Aeron said softly.

"And if you get _into_ the Volt, you will go berserk and attack him. And he kills Jac." Sensei said calmly. "Aeron, what would Jac want you to do?"

"I am angry, not stupid, Sensei." Aeron replied without heat. "I know it is a trap. You said once that I would be a powerful weapon. I currently have a target. Use me." Aeron said flatly. "Or I will."

"Aeron, we can't let you use the Volt." Sensei said sadly. "We will lose you and there will be no coming back."

"That is your final word?" Aeron asked softly.

"It is." Sensei replied.

"Let me talk to Karen, calm her down." Aeron said as he sat back down on the bed. Sensei looked at him, but Aeron did not speak again. Sensei stepped aside and Karen bolted into the room, her eyes streaming tears. "Don't cry, Karen. We will get her back." Aeron said gently as Karen ran to him, pleading with eyes and body language. She ran to him and he held her as she cried. The white retreated as soon as he touched her and he felt his own tears start. "I assume you have a plan." Aeron asked Sensei.

"I do." Sensei replied. "We fit you into a new warframe quickly and head out as a clan as soon as Amelia finishes patching Two up."

"All of us?" Aeron asked slowly. "He has got to expect that."

"Amelia, Cora, Mari and Miguel will be safe here." Sensei said with a nod. "The internal defenses will keep most enemies at bay. They also have a panic button to call us if anything else happens. Two contacted some of her friends on the way. We will hit the Stalker with a tide of bodies."

"He will expect that." Aeron said softly.

"So...what?" Sensei asked sourly. "Put you back in your Volt, let you lose your mind and charge him alone? Aeron, the Stalker has no honor."

"If he had no honor, Jac would already be dead." Aeron said, shaking his head. "She had no reason to fear him. She hadn't earned his wrath. _I_ have." He paused as Karen squeezed him and something hard pressed into him. "Karen...?" He asked slowly. "Why is there a grenade in your pocket?"

"There is only one person I can legally take hostage." Karen said, her hand that was not clenching him had it's hand in her pocket. "Myself." Aeron stared at her. "Help Jac!" She pleaded.

"Karen!" Aeron said with feeling. "You just got me punished _again!_" He said as he trapped her hand with one of his. She gave a small cry of dismay, but he wasn't listening. He deftly filched the grenade from her, disarmed it and tossed it to Sensei. The Rhino caught it and the small explosive device vanished. Aeron rapped the now still girl gently on the top of the head. "You crazy girl." Aeron said as he hugged Karen tight. She collapsed into his arms, bawling and he soothed her. "It's okay, Karen..." He soothed her. "It's okay." After a moment he looked up at Sensei. "You didn't mention Karen..."

"She is coming with us." Sensei said dryly. "Not that I trust her without supervision anyway."

"That was a dud that you conveniently left out, wasn't it?" Aeron asked without heat. Karen stiffened but Sensei didn't reply. "Fine. Your plan?"

"You mind being the bait for a trap?" Sensei asked.

"Sensei, if we show up in masse,..." Aeron said with a shiver. "He will vanish. Probably kill Jac and disappear. He teleports, you know."

"He is not the only one who can do that." Sensei said with a nod. "We have a few tricks of our own. Speaking of..." A male Tenno edged into the room around Sensei and nodded to Aeron. "Ric, what have you got?"

"What a bloody mess." The other male Tenno said with a sigh. Indeed, as Sensei had said before, his accent was..odd, but understandable. "I rigged the holo projector on the Loki to emulate a Volt in all respects. It should stand up to even close range scrutiny. Even from that sodding scum."

"Didn't the Corpus do something to Jac's Loki?" Aeron asked with a frown.

"They did." Ric agreed. "Bunch of evil slithy toves. But they are not as smart as they think they are. The programming was beamed into her skull. There were a few tracking devices attached too, but they are gone."

"Good."Sensei said with a nod. "Aeron, can you stand?" Aeron sat up again, Karen helping him to rise.

"I can." Aeron said with a nod. "It hurts, but I can."

"Okay." Sensei said with a nod. "Are you in control?" He asked calmly.

"Karen, let go of me and step back for a moment." Aeron asked. Karen looked curious, but did as ordered. As soon as she did, the white surged up inside his skull. "This is strange..." Aeron said. "Karen. Take my hand for a moment." He held out a hand for her to take. She did and the white retreated. "It's like Karen is dampening it. Or..." His eyes widened. "My sister's need is dampening it."

"What?" Karen asked, hope warring with fear in her eyes. The fear wasn't for herself, Aeron realized. It was for him.

"You need me whole, Karen." Aeron said, squeezing her hand. "Jac needs me whole. So..." He shook his head. "I know what to do. Sensei... In the presence of two witnesses, I must ask this formally."

"What Aeron?" Sensei asked, curious.

"May I have the clan's permission to court Tenno Jac as my mate?" Aeron asked in the sudden silence that fell. The white...vanished.

"That is a big step, Aeron." Sensei said, his tone worried. "And we may not be able to get her back."

"I know." Aeron as Karen gave a cry of alarm. "Karen, The Stalker fights as Tenno. We don't know what he is or where he came from. If the Lotus knows, she isn't telling."

"_If_ she knows." Ric said sourly.

"Where does that leave me?" Karen asked, her voice faint.

"No." Aeron said dryly. "You are not my retainer." Karen slumped a bit and he pulled her close, not missing Sensei's sudden tension. "Relax, Sensei. I am in control." Aeron promised. "For now." He hugged Karen. "I am asking the clan's permission to court Jac, no more. But Karen is still my responsibility."

"You stubborn Tenno." Karen complained, but then hugged him back. "I am sorry, Tenno Aeron. I thought it would help..." She said in a small voice.

"Sensei would have knocked you unconscious before we got three steps, Karen." Aeron said with a nod. "That is why he is carrying a Prova instead of anything heavier." Karen turned her hand Sensei nodded, turning slightly to show the shock prod that hung from his back.

"I am an idiot." Karen said, burying her face in Aeron's shoulder.

"Actually...Not a bad idea, just... not complete." Aeron said, musing. "Sensei, can I ask for some specialized gear?"

"Anything we have available, within reason." Sensei said after a moment. "What do you have in mind?"

"Stalker wants his scythe back." Aeron said with a feral smile. "What say we give it to him?"

Sensei looked at Aeron as both Karen and Ric stared at the sitting Tenno. Then, in unison, both grinned as well. A feral smile, just like Aeron's.

"Tell me more..." Sensei said as Amelia and Alicia entered the room. "While they unhook you."

"Well... It's like this." Aeron lay back and shooed Karen away as Alicia, her face set, came close. The white did not surge in him and now he knew why. His mate was in danger. She needed him. His mind and body, operating on an ancient, primeval level, recognized that. No anger. Not yet. He focused on Sensei as Alicia started working. "We can't trust the Stalker and he is not going to trust us, so I have to appear alone. I have to go in alone. I will take his scythe and another melee weapon, a glaive if we have one. But if we.."

He started laying out his plan, ignoring the medic working on him as he worked to save his mate. And maybe himself in the process.


	18. Chapter 18

**Shocks to the system**

Aeron walked into the building that was at the coordinates that the Stalker had provided -by attaching them to a note that had been wrapped around an arrow the scum had shot Two with- with only faint misgivings. It was an outlying lab building on a Corpus base. Getting in wasn't that hard. He knew what he had to do. He had a purpose, a clear direction. Jac was in trouble. The deep, primal need to protect his mate overrode anything else, even the white. He knew it was only a matter of time before the white surfaced again, he couldn't possibly be that lucky. But Amelia had promised that she would find something that would help. Right now, he had a task. Find Jac.

As he walked past the entrance he saw bodies. Corpus bodies. Something -or some_one_- had come through here already and slaughtered the guards. But... His eyes narrowed as he examined one of the bodies. The Corpus crewman hadn't been killed by an arrow, a throwing blade or a wielded blade. Aeron looked around and his sense of disquiet grew as he realized all of the goons at the entrance had been killed in explosions. No -make that one explosion- a chain reaction explosion. Like a Nova might produce.

He wasn't too worried about the explosions. Warframes were built to survive explosions after all. Even the heavily modified Loki he wore had weathered damage like a Nova could produce. What worried him was _why_ Jac might have blown the Corpus goons into pieces. If she was a prisoner...

Aeron passed a door and froze as the door icon changed from red to green. He paused, but no threat showed. He shrugged internally, he had to be under observation. He walked to the door and froze solid as he saw what was inside the room.

It was a standard Corpus operating theatre. Aeron had seen far, far too many of those in his time fighting since he and his small clan had woken from cryo. Thinking about his lost clan mates brought a momentary ache to his heart, but the white didn't come and he managed to pass beyond the pain. The med banks, gleaming surgical robots, none of that mattered. What mattered was the warframe lying on the table. He went even more stiff as Jac spoke.

"Hi, Aeron." Jac's voice was...wrong. He couldn't define exactly what was wrong with it. It was slightly slurred. But Tenno did not speak in the field. Unless secrecy did not matter anymore. "You gonna stand in the door all day?" She asked with a giggle.

That was so very wrong. Jac was funny, yes. She rarely giggled. Chuckled, laughed, rolled on the floor a few times. Giggled? Not hardly.

"Any alive?" Aeron asked calmly, his Lato pistol tracking from side to side.

"Nah." Jac said offhanded. "I made a mess. Used all my power, but made a _big_ boom..." She giggled again.

"Can you move?" Aeron asked. The lack of any obvious threats was worrisome. Where was the Stalker?

"Could, but I don't wanna." Jac slurred. "I am comfy. Come join me?" She asked. Aeron didn't move. "Aeron..." She sounded like she was pouting.

"What happened, Jac?" Aeron asked softly. "Two said you were ambushed."

"Guy in red armor." Jac said with a shrug. "Threw a ball at me and I went down. Never saw one of those before." She giggled again. "Made me see pretty colors."

"Nervo." Aeron said to himself. "And now?" He asked.

"Now?" Jac said with a shrug. "I was scared, so scared. But he was nice. He wanted to talk to you. I was scared and he gave me something that calmed me down. He is nice..." She said, but her helmeted head was lolling.

"Drugged." Aeron said with hint of anger. "Figures. What did he want?"

"He just wants to talk, Aeron." Jac said sitting up. "You gonna stand there all day?"

"Jac, you need to get out of here." Aeron said quietly, his head turning, scanning searching eyes roving all around. "Go outside and head for the large hill in the distance."

"He knows you are not alone." Jac said with another giggle. "He doesn't care. He called me 'Sister'."

"Did he now?" Aeron asked. "That is not...entirely accurate, Jac." Aeron said slowly. If she was drugged, she was a distraction or a threat. He couldn't detect the Stalker with his warframe sensors. But the assassin was close.

"He wears a warframe." Jac protested. "That makes him Tenno, like Karen. He wants to talk to her too."

"I bet." Aeron said as he finally took a step into the room. He was unsurprised to her the door hiss shut behind him and lock. He didn't move. Instead he spoke flatly. "I am here, scum. Show yourself."

"Aeron..." Jac protested. "No need to be rude."

"There is _every_ need to be rude." Aeron said with a snap. "Show yourself, you lying piece of crap."

"Why?" The voice of the Stalker, as always was dark and dangerous. "I just want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to a traitor." Aeron said, not moving despite Jac's cry of alarm.

"I am no traitor." The Stalker said quietly. "You are."

"Maybe I am misled. Maybe we all are." Aeron admitted slowly. "But my _loyalty_ is to my kin. First, last and only. You kill my kin. We have _nothing_ to discuss."

"You are wrong." The Stalker replied from wherever he was hiding. "You have seen the truth. You have touched the truth. You can be what the Lotus denies you. You can be everything you were meant to be. Cast off your shackles, Aeron. Join me. Join us."

"What have you done to Jac?" Aeron asked as he slowly quartered the room with visual scanning.

"Our sister was afraid." The Stalker replied. "I dampened her fear. She is...nice."

"Jac." Aeron finally let emotion entered his voice. Worry. "Did he touch you?"

"I am in my warframe, silly." Jac said with a laugh as she sat, twiddling her thumbs. "He used a hypo."

"Jac." Aeron pressed. "Did he touch you?"

"Uh..." Jac paused. "I dunno." She said with a shrug. "All the pretty colors are..." She shook herself and her voice strengthened. "All my warframe diagnostics are green. You need to calm down, Aeron." She said, her tone dazed. "It's okay."

"It's a calming agent, Aeron, no more." The Stalker said into the silence that fell. "I did not harm her. She is innocent."

"Right." Aeron couldn't have kept the scorn from his voice if he had tried. "You know, all you had to do if you wanted this back..." He holstered his pistol and drew the scythe. He waved it in the air and Jac winced back from the humming red blades. "...was ask nicely. I don't _like_ it. It smells of dead kin." He threw it across the room and it buried itself in a bank of computers.

"You took me by surprise on that Corpus ship." The Stalker said calmly. "I didn't understand who and what you were. Now I do. You can be so much more than a slave, Aeron."

"A kinslayer." Aeron agreed. "A traitor. A boogeyman." He shook his head. "No, thank you. I have a job. Come on, Jac. We are leaving."

"Aeron." Jac said, shaking her head. "You are being rude. This isn't like you." She made a noise of dismay. "I don't like this you."

"Jac." Aeron said softly. "You have been drugged. Come on, Jac."

He was so focused on the shadows that he nearly didn't see the ball that materialized in Jac's hand and came flying at him. But he did see it. The other melee weapon that he carried met the nervo in midair, slicing the stunning ball neatly in two. The glaive hit the wall and ricocheted away. Jac ducked as the whirling blades passed close to her head.

"Now what did you go and do that for?" Jac demanded, hurt in her tone. "That was _my_ shiney ball..." She gasped as Aeron sheathed the glaive and drew his primary weapon. "Aeron... no..." She said, sitting _very_ still. No one sane would blame her.

"This is a fully modded Ogris rocket launcher." Aeron said into the silence that fell. "It has a full clip. How much of the room must I destroy before you show yourself, assassin?"

"You would kill Jac?" The Stalker asked, still that maddening calm. Instead of answering, Aeron spun and fired. Jac screamed. The rocket hit the wall, obliterating the shadows that had been in that section of the room and now the Stalker sounded worried. "What are you doing?"

"Evening the odds. Jac?" Aeron said conversationally. "Duck." Jac slammed herself to the floor as Aeron spun in a circle, firing all four of the remaining rockets in the clip. Each rocket tore huge holes in the walls, destroying everything close to the points of impact. Fire and shrapnel flew everywhere. Jac was holding her arms around her head on the floor, her screams loud in the sudden silence as he reloaded. "Do I have your attention?" Aeron asked in a voice that mocked the Stalker's calm.

"That is right, give in to your anger, Aeron." The Stalker said with hint of emotion. Glee. "Be what you were meant to be."

"You are an idiot." Aeron said, still calm. "I will not be your pawn. You want to make me berserk. Make me kill Jac and turn on my brethren. Go away, assassin. You have failed."

"It's not like that, Aeron!" Jac begged, but did not move from the floor. "Aeron, please!" She cried as he leveled the rocket launcher at another shadow. As he did, she jerked and another ball shot from her hand and he couldn't dodge or deflect this one. He screamed as every nerve in his body was suddenly jolted by energy. The rocket launcher fell from his hands to clatter on the floor. "You said we wouldn't hurt him!" Jac screamed as Aeron fell.

"I said we would try not to hurt him. Bring him, Jac." The Stalker's voice...came from Jac. "Get him on the table." The red and black armored form appeared from the shadow Aeron had been aiming at and strode to where the red scythe hung motionless. "Ah yes, my Hate..." He drew it from the computer, caressing the edge. "Get him on the table, Jac. We don't have a lot of time before the deluded fools who call him 'Brother' come charging to his rescue." He slung the scythe.

"Yes...brother..." Jac said as she bent down to scoop Aeron up. She laid him on the table that she had been on and restraints snapped into place as she laid out each limb. "Why won't you listen, Aeron?" She begged. "He feels...wrong. I... I don't..." She started to cry. "I don't..."

"Easy Jac." The Stalker said as he stepped close to her. A hypo flashed and he had a wicked smile in his voice as she slumped to the floor. "Better?"

"Pretty colors." Jac slurred.

"Good girl." The Stalker purred as he turned to look at Aeron. "I wasn't sure you would do it. But now, we have a chance to set things right. I know you can hear me, but I don't have time to monologue." He hit controls and surgical machines started powering up. "Crude, but effective, these Corpus toys. Don't struggle. It's pointless. Those restraints are designed to hold warframes while the Tenno inside is removed." He said as Aeron fought the paralysis.

"All..." Aeron gasped as the paralysis faded. "All this time, you wanted me as a weapon. To kill Tenno."

"A powerful weapon." The Stalker agreed. "A useful weapon, once I got past my anger at your treatment of me I saw the possibilities. You are so like me. Anger manifest."

"I am nothing like you." Aeron bit out as machinery started to whir and ominous looking needles and saws started closing in on him. "I am not alone. You are."

"Not for long." The Stalker promised. "And then, once you are done with the behavioral reconditioning, I think Jac will go in next. She is a good kid, but can use a bit of...adjustment."

"There is one minor problem with that." Aeron said quietly as the machinery closed in.

"Oh?" Stalker asked. "What?"

"This." Aeron looked at the Stalker and keyed for a Switch Teleport. He found himself standing staring at the red armored form that suddenly started thrashing on the table. "Surprise, sucker."

"This is not possible!" The Stalker screamed, his control undone. He fought the restraints, but, as he had said, they were far beyond any warframe's ability to break. Even the Stalkers.

"You expected a Volt." Aeron said as he dropped the holo. The Stalker stared up at the visage that Aeron knew he wore now. A Loki. "I wonder... I can't contact anyone outside the room. Does whatever is blocking me block teleports too?"

"You will not escape!" The Stalker screamed as the various mechanical arms darted in. Then his screams came in waves. Aeron picked up the rocket launcher and a blast blew the locked door open. Jac was sobbing on the floor as Aeron slung his rocket launcher and bent down to pick her up.

"Oh, I think I will." Aeron said as he carried the sobbing form of his mate from the room of horrors, ignoring the screams coming behind him. "After all, escape is what Loki is all about, isn't it?" He didn't get a response except more screams but he didn't expect one either. He strode towards the facility entrance.

"Aeron..." Jac sobbed. "I am sorry..."

"Not your fault, Jac." Aeron said gently as he walked. But then, an alarm started blaring. "Wonderful..." He groused.

MOAs started pouring from the many fabrication modules scattered through the facility and Aeron could hear shouts as flesh and blood security forces started closing in on the building. As he reached the entrance, he saw a number of Corpus troops outside. Lots of them.

"Aeron..." Jac begged, her tone terrified.

"It's okay, Jac." Aeron reassured her. "You are not alone. _We_ are not alone." He started running and all the Corpus tracked him. But then, shadowy forms appeared all around. At least a dozen Tenno danced into the Corpus ranks, sowing confusion. A few of the Corpus opened fire on him anyway, but then he threw a Decoy and they focused on that.

"Fall back!" Sensei's command came as Aeron cleared the security fence around the base in a running jump, barely breaking stride. "We have what we came for! Aeron, how is she?"

"Drugged." Aeron said sharply. "I don't know with what. Possible threat."

"Meet me." Alicia commanded and a waypoint appeared on his HUD as a pair of shadows angled to meet him. "And slow the frack down!"

"I could learn to like this warframe." Aeron said with a grin as he skidded to a stop in front of Alicia and Will. Will was scanning the area for hostiles and Aeron did the same as he laid Jac's still form down. "I don't know what he gave her, but it was at least two doses."

"Oh boy..." Alicia said slowly as she bent over Jac, her scanners whirring. "She is a mess. This may take a while."

"I will keep them busy." Aeron said with a snarl. "Keep her safe." He pleaded.

"You will get the chance to ask her." Alicia said with a nod. "Go." She said as she hit Jac with a hypo of her own. Jac grunted

"Ask me what?" Jac asked, her voice clearer. "What? What happened?" She asked as she tried to sit up. "There was...a guy in red..."

"Stay down, Jac." Alicia commanded. "You are hurt."

"What are you doing in a Loki, Aeron?" Jac asked as she subsided a bit. "I..."

"Might as well ask now." Aeron said as he fired a rocket at target that he could barely see. The fiery projectile lanced straight and true, slamming into the group of Corpus that had joined the one who had seen the small immobile group of Tenno. "Will you marry me, Jac of the Tenno?"

"Now is _not_ the time!" Alicia snapped. "_Go!_" She thundered. Aeron nodded to her and vanished from sight. But another rocket slammed out of nowhere and tore apart a group of MOAs.

"Did he... just ask...?" Jac was shaking, and tears sounded in her voice as Alicia hit her with another hypo. "I..."

"Talk after the battle is done." Will said quietly, covering the two females. "But yes. He did."

"Oh." Jac said distinctly and then passed out.


	19. Chapter 19

**Healing a Heart**

"Aeron?" Karen's soft voice startled Aeron out of his doze and she jerked back as he looked up at her. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I brought food." She was carrying a tray that held a small meal and a drink. "Any change?" She asked, not moving from her stance of almost attention.

Aeron stared guiltily at the datapad he had been perusing. Armaments, ammunition and resources readouts for the clan. Sensei had decided that Aeron was a shoe-in for a weapon's officer. Aeron had to admit, he was a good fit. If there was one thing he did know, it was weapons. The docs had told him to quote' get out' and he had hastily complied. He had found his way to a small briefing room and asked Sensei for a secure video link so he could at least see Jac, even if he couldn't touch her. He needed the reassurance.

"No." Aeron said softly. "Put it down." He said with a nod to a table nearby. His eyes traced back to a monitor screen. On it, Jac floated in a tank filled with an odd looking yellow substance. "She is in withdrawal from the drug, which they finally identified. An ancient herbal extract of all things. Rare and almost unobtainable to most people. The Stalker is not most people." He shook his head. "The docs are weaning her off it, as gently as they can."

"She wouldn't want you moping any more than _you_ wanted _her_ to." Karen said with a nod as she set the tray down. "Can I...ask some questions?"

"Go ahead." Aeron said quietly. Not that he could disturb Jac. The medics had barred him from the ward. Just as well, he wasn't...totally stable at the moment. Just closer than he had been for quite a while. "Sensei says you did well. High praise from him." Karen remained standing and Aeron sighed. "This isn't a test, Karen. Sit down already." He waved at one of the other chairs in the small room.

"If you wish." Karen said soberly. She sat still for several moments, gathering her thoughts. Aeron let her. "Are battles always like that?" Karen asked finally. "All dust and fear. Movement and shooting at things you can barely see? Getting hurt and keeping on going?"

"The way I used to fight..." Aeron said after a moment. "They were rarely like that. I struck form hiding. I hit my target and vanished." He shook his head. "But usually with my small clan? Yes."

"I don't know if I can do this." Karen admitted, her voice small. "I... I killed today, Aeron. I shot a Crewman who was looking the other way."

"There is no fair in war, Karen." Aeron said with a small, sad smile. "Never has been, never will be. There are those who survive and those who do not. It is a hard lesson." Karen sighed and nodded. Aeron reached out and took her hand. "Karen... If you find, after time to think, that you cannot continue, we will put your warframe in storage and find you a non-combat role."

"But..." Karen shook her head. "The clan needs every warframe."

"Karen." Aeron's voice was hard now. "It can and will drive you crazy if you let it. This was your first time killing another sentient." Karen nodded, not looking at him, then she stiffened as he reached out and took her head in his hands and made her look at him. "Karen... listen to your heart. What we do is not easy. It should not _be_ easy. It is an awful job, but someone has to do it. Better us than many. If you can't do it, we can handle it. Is the white still there?" He tapped her nose, making her smile, and then took her hands again.

"it is." Karen said after a moment's thought. "Not strong, but it is there."

"We will both have to be careful." Aeron said as he gave Karen's hands another squeeze and let her go. "It is like having bad temper, only more so." Karen made a face but nodded silently. "Have you eaten?" He asked.

"Yes." Karen said with a sigh. "I have sword practice and needed the energy."

"Will is a very good sword instructor." Aeron said with a nod as he started eating slowly and carefully. "He is a far better swordsman than I am. I am a distance fighter usually."

"Every time I go into the training room, I wind up eating the deck plates." Karen said a bit sourly. "I have a long way to go."

"Every journey begins with a single step, Karen." The male Tenno said between bites. "Everyone starts the exact same place." He chuckled as he finished his food and sipped his drink. "You should have seen me the first time I picked up a sword. I was convinced I was hopeless." Karen looked dubious, but did not speak. "You will learn. Even if you cannot be a Warrior, Karen... The sword is a good way to follow. The ability to focus on a task to the exclusion of all else can be a very useful ability in many circumstances."

"As long as we don't tunnel our vision." Karen said with a nod. Then she glanced at the chrono and blanched. "I am going to be late. Give Jac a hug for me?" She asked a she rose and bowed formally.

"Go." Aeron growled, but was smiling as she literally ran out the door. "Ah, Karen..." He said fondly to the empty air.

Aeron was smiling as he slid the tray with its organic detritus into one of the recyclers that dotted every room in the dojo. They eliminated the need for staff to work on cleaning dishes. Of course, the recyclers got messy and had to be cleaned regularly. Karen was on that particular duty for the foreseeable future. Speaking of...

Aeron split the monitor screen to look at the training room. He saw Karen run in and bow, out of breath. He didn't need the sound on to know what Will's utterly polite yet scathing comments would be. Timing was everything in sword work. Aeron was smiling as Karen laid her practice sword down and dropped to the floor to start cranking out pushups. He sighed as he cut that feed and looked back to where Jac floated.

"She is right." Aeron said to himself. "Ah, Jac..." He said sadly, touching the screen. It clicked off and he rose. "Better get to work myself." Aeron walked from the room and nodded to the two Tenno who stood by the door to the firing range. "Two, Ric? What would you like?"

"I need to run the shoot house." Ric said with a nod. "Pistol." Aeron nodded. Ric was a very good tech, and he was a passable swordsman. His shooting was okay, but it could be so much better.

"Right." Aeron said as he unlocked the door to the firing range. "I will set it up. Just remember to safety your weapon before exiting this time. No more accidental discharges, please." Ric's face was a mask as he nodded. "Two?" He asked as he entered, automatically checking to see that the range was clear.

"Moving pop-ups." Two said as she followed Ric and Aeron into the range. "I finally got the bow fabricated and I want to see if it works." She nodded to a table nearby and an oddly shaped thing on it. The gold contraption was unusual to say the least.

"Let me see..." Aeron stepped to the table and scrutinized the Paris Prime. Then he nodded. "Looks okay. You will need to dial it down so you can draw it outside of a warframe. And use a release. No sliced off fingers on my range." He cautioned Two who gulped and nodded. Paris bowstrings were very thin and had a distressing habit of slicing unarmored flesh. "Ears." He said as he pulled a set of hearing protectors from a locker.

Two and Ric had already pulled out their own hearing protection. He would have their rear ends in a sling if they didn't. Ric had pulled a pistol from a locker and was slowly disassembling it, obviously marking off each piece on a mental checklist. Two was checking over the bow just as carefully even though there were fewer moving parts, they all had to function properly. Aeron nodded and entered the control booth. He had Ric's run set up quickly, programming a few surprises for the tech, but nothing too extreme. No tear gas, flash bangs or enemies who shot back. This time. For Two, he had the pop-ups gradually increase in movement speed and decrease in time upright. She would expect no less. He highly doubted she would miss much. She wasn't the greatest rifle or pistol shooter he had seen, but with a bow, she was scary.

"Ready? Shoot house is up, Two is on lane four." Aeron asked, then paused as an icon appeared on his screen. "Wait one." He snapped. Ric and Two both froze and retreated from the ammunition lockers they had been reaching for. "Someone else wants to join the session. Hold position." Two and Ric both nodded.

Aeron went completely still as the door opened and Sensei walked in followed by... Alicia wore an irate look, but Jac's face was serene as she strode into the range. He felt his heart lurch, but he had to stay professional. All wore bodysuits instead of warframes.

"Sensei, Alicia, Jac." Aeron said quietly. "Come to shoot?"

"I need some practice." Sensei said agreeably. "Jac wants to shoot some too and Alicia won't leave her side."

"Doc." Aeron said, not looking at Jac. "Is she up for this?" Jac grimaced, but remained silent.

"Physically, Jac is fine." Alicia said with a glower. "She should still be resting."

"I need the practice." Jac said quietly. "My shooting was adequate when I went out with Two. No more." Two looked askance at her, but did not speak. "I need the practice." She repeated softly.

"Okay." Aeron said with a nod. He couldn't fault her for that. "Preferences? Sensei?" He asked the clan leader first.

"A mix of targets please." Sensei said with a nod. "Moving, pop up and stationary. Rifle ranges. Not _your_ rifle ranges, mind you." He said with a grin that Aeron shared. He wouldn't have done that to Sensei. Not really. Probably anyway. Aeron programmed the targets quickly.

"Jac?" Aeron asked calmly but his heart was doing somersaults as she looked at him.

"I have sighted my target." Jac said with a small smile.

"Jac." Aeron said, exasperated. "Now is not really a good time..."

"And the middle of a battle, with me drugged out of my mind, was a _good_ time to propose marriage?" Jac asked softly, her eyes never leaving him. "But..." She smiled as the door opened behind her. Aeron stiffened. Only _one_ other being in the dojo could enter the firing range without permission.

"Range master." Miguel said with a nod as he came close.

"I thought you were working on that stuck freight elevator." Aeron said with a small frown. The whole reason that Aeron had take the job was to free up Miguel to have time to do other tasks.

"Fried CPU chip in the main board." Miguel said with another nod. "Fast fix." Now he smiled. "Best not push it, boy. That girl of your has a heck of a temper."

"What did you do, Jac?" Aeron asked sourly as he exited the control booth.

"I didn't mean to break the tank." Jac said sheepishly. "But they wouldn't let me out."

"Jac..." Aeron said in a soft, disbelieving voice.

"She didn't break it." Alicia was scowling, but a smile was creeping up it. "She cracked it and she _will_ help me fix it. Won't you, Jac?" Jac nodded, her eyes never leaving Aeron.

"Wait a minute..." Aeron said slowly. "The image I was seeing was you asleep." He said to Jac who shrugged. He looked at Alicia who shrugged as well.

"It kept you from running to medical every time she twitched." Alicia said with no trace of apology. "Tell me I lie."

"You don't." Aeron said with a reluctant smile. "So... what...?" He asked Jac.

"Yes." Jac said softly. Aeron went stiff and Jac smiled, her face softening. "You asked me a question and the answer is 'yes'."

"I..." Aeron stammered and then shook himself. "Miguel?" He asked the other range master who chortled and nodded.

"Take what time you need." Miguel said as he headed for the booth. "But get off my range if you are not going to be shooting!" He growled good naturedly. As he passed Aeron, he gave the Tenno a leer. Aeron bit back a laugh, he liked Miguel.

Aeron inclined his head to the door and Alicia nodded, but waited for Jac to move first. Jac sighed and stepped off, the others following. As soon as they were outside the door, Jac crumpled a little and Alicia was right there, scanner whirring.

"I am all right, Alicia." Jac protested. "Sheesh..."

"You went through an ordeal." Alicia said kindly. "No one blames you for being a little weak. The drug is out of your system, but you may have flashbacks despite the counter agents we gave you."

"And if I do..." Jac said a bit surly. "...the pharmacopeia you attached to me..." She touched a small device on her arm. "...medicates me and I call you immediately. Can I have at least the _illusion_ of privacy please?" She snapped.

Alicia looked at Aeron silently, but her words were clear even unspoken. 'Be gentle' Then she was gone.

"Jac." Aeron said quietly. "This will not be easy."

"Tenno don't do easy." Jac replied. "I... I don't know what to say... What to do..."

"You never did either, did you?" Aeron asked after a moment.

"No." Jac said with a sigh. "Training from birth, then the warframe, then fighting... No." She said sadly. "I never did. I wanted you, but..." Aeron nodded. He had never been interested.

"Then we both have some education." Aeron said with a smile as he took her hands in his. "One thing. Karen."

"How has she been handling my... um..." Jac swallowed. "My incapacitation?"

"She killed today for the first time." Aeron said sadly. Jac froze and he nodded. "I think she can handle it. We will have to be careful, but she is a considerate girl."

"One with a lot of emotional scars." Jac agreed sadly. "What if we adopt her?"

"Adopt her?" Aeron asked slowly, then he paused and grinned. "You evil woman."

"What?" Jac asked with an innocent expression. "So what if when she is adopted, all her past transgressions are locked away in sealed files only to be opened if she goofs again? And then in that hypothetical situation, _she_ will be responsible for her own actions." She kept a straight face through it all.

"As a daughter or as a sister-wife?" Aeron asked after a moment.

"Ah..." Jac paused. "Daughter I think. Even if she wasn't far, far younger than either of us, she has been abused. She needs care, comfort and stability. We can provide that."

"You think she will agree?" Aeron asked slowly.

"She worships the ground we walk on, Aeron. We could tell her to walk through an Ember's World on Fire naked and she would. She would try anyway." Jac said soberly. "We need to show her the true path. Discipline."

"Honor." Aeron said calmly.

"Perseverance." Jac replied.

"Service." They chorused.

"Okay." Aeron said with a nod. "We will talk to her when she is done with Will. Well, after she soaks for a bit." Jac looked at him and he shrugged. "She was late to his session." Jac gulped and nodded.

"If he is anything like my old sword master..." Jac said, her face sick. "She won't die. She will wish for it."

"Her problem for now." Aeron said calmly. "Jac, are you sure?"

"I have never been surer of anything in my life." Jac said as she stepped close, her arms going around him. "I said 'Yes' and I meant 'Yes'. I am yours and you are mine. Now and always."

"Now and always." Aeron said, putting his arms around his love. "But... room..."

"Don't tell me you don't have this planned." Jac said and then gave a squeak as he lifted her in his arms. "Aeron?"

"I did." Aeron stepped to a door nearby that opened as he approached. Inside was small, comfortable room. A bed, a table, a small food preparation area and a door that probably led to a bathroom. "I wasn't sure when you would wake. So I had the systems set this room up for us. If you said yes."

"Oh Aeron." Jac said, hugging her mate close. "I do love you."

"Good." Aeron said with a smile. "Because I love you too. Care to see how much?"

The door hissed shut behind them, but they were too busy to notice.


	20. Chapter 20

**A New Beginning**

"Eyes on." Karen's soft voice was calm and sure as she looked through the scope of her rifle. "Target identified."

"I count five Troopers, twelve Lancers of various kinds, two Napalms and four Scorpions accompanying the target." Jac's voice was also calm and sure. "Target is unaware." She knelt with her spotting scope up and tracking. "Range twelve hundred sixty. Speed of target is approximately four kilometers per hour. Direction of march is south, south west. Visibility is good. Wind from the north at six."

"Karen?" Aeron asked, his eyes roving around the area and his Braton rifle tracking with them. He was the guard for this jaunt. "Your call."

"I can do it." Karen said, her eyes never leaving the target. "Engaging."

Her heavily modified Snipetron Vandal twitched just a little. The long rifle was had been a gift from Miguel. The other range master of the clan had been very tightlipped about where and how he had gotten it. But Aeron wasn't jealous. Much anyway. A regular Snipetron worked just fine for Aeron. Even if the newer weapon was very cool. Karen held her breath, let half of it out as she had been taught and gently squeezed the trigger with her middle finger. Most snipers used the middle finger because it gave finer control with training than the index finger normally did. Not to mention the symbolism of 'giving the enemy the finger'. Her rifle fired and she made a soft noise as she watched through her scope. The other two remained motionless.

"Hit." Karen said quietly. "Hurt him, but didn't kill him." Aeron nodded. Captain Vor was one tough Grineer even without his purloined Orokin technology. "Retargeting."

"Jac?" Aeron asked. "Response?"

"Troops are deploying." Jac said quietly. "I don't think they know where the shot came from. Vor might but I can't tell if he is telling them. Wait..." She paused and nodded. "He just shielded and a new trio of Grineer just teleported in. I guess the Lotus was right when she said he could teleport. And not just himself. If he sees us, we better displace fast or we might get overrun even at this distance. Teleports were usually line of sight."

"Right." Aeron said with a nod. "Karen, when he drops his shield, try for a headshot. If you hit, all well and good. If not, we move to our secondary snipe point. At least there is no sign of artillery."

"That would suck." Jac agreed. "Shield is..." Karen's rifle fired before Jac could finish the sentence. "Good shot, Karen." Jac said with a nod as the distant enemy fell over.

"Good rifle." Karen said a bit laconically, emulating Aeron. "He won't stay dead, will he?" Karen asked as she kept her eyes on the distant enemies.

"No. It will take him a while to regenerate." Aeron said with a shrug. "But no. He won't. Orokin tech was capable of wonder and horrors." He paused and then he snarled. "Someone saw us. Two reports talk of Grineer artillery reorienting this way! Displace! Now!"

The others did not argue, simply got up and ran. Aeron kept pace with the Mag and Nova warframes easily. The Loki was fast as all get out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Karen asked, keeping the pace easily despite her large burden. Not that she had much else. A Lato pistol and a simple Skana were her other weapons.

"Two is a born sneak." Jac said with a laugh. "As long as she doesn't move, they won't know she was there at all." She increased speed as a series of explosions sounded behind them, engulfing the position they had just left. Of course, the trio of warframes were a hundred meters away and expanding the distance as the explosions continued. "Dang. Say what you will about the Grineer, they are not slouches at counter battery fire."

The trio was nearly to their second snipe position when it happened. One moment, the way on front of them was clear, the next a spindly looking Grineer appeared out of a golden burst of energy. Vor stood there, his face a bloody mess.

"Tenno." He snapped as he brought his pistol up, but Karen was faster. A Pull and he was off balance but then the area came alive with brown and green armored forms.

Aeron and Jac split up, Karen dropping to a kneeling position, her rifle steady despite the short range. Aeron darted in and out of invisibility as he fired in short bursts, his heavily modified Braton tearing through armor and flesh with equal abandon. Jac distained stealth and her Hek roared, each roar a testament to an obliterated enemy. Then the area was clear except for Vor who stood, his pistol coming around. Aeron dove to the side as the oddly shaped weapon fired. From the heat that Aeron could feel, the blast had missed him by millimeters. Then Karen's rifle roared again and Vor, an incredulous look on his face, reached up to touch the large golden key that adorned his chest and the huge hole that had been torn in it. He fell slowly, all the way to the ground where he lay, unmoving.

Aeron made a gesture and the others responded the same way. No injuries. Jac moved up to the still form and kicked it to no response. Then she pulled her Lex and fired a heavy slug point blank into the Grineer's skull. Aeron looked at her and she shrugged. He shook his head but didn't protest. With Orokin tech one couldn't be too careful. Karen was scanning the oddly shaped pistol that was still clenched in the Grineer's hand. Aeron might have looted it, but it was obviously damaged, the barrel warped. Looking at it, it was easy to tell it was genetically locked so that only Vor could use it and if Aeron was any judge, probably had several tracking devices attached to it in case of theft.

Luckily the rest of the trip back to the rendezvous was quiet and quick. Two was waiting there, her bow held in a negligent seeming grip, but Aeron could read her like a book after working with her and training with her. The Banshee was tense but relaxed as she looked the others over and saw no injuries.

"I thought he was down." Two apologized. "Then he vanished. I heard shots, you all okay?"

"Karen shot his key." Aeron said with a snort. "It will reform, but close range from a Snipetron? Let alone her Vandal? It will take a while."

"He will be prepared for that next time." Two said with a shake of her head. "But nicely done, Karen." Karen mumbled something, her postured embarrassed. "Karen?" She asked as they waited for the ship to fly close to pick them up.

"I was aiming for his head." Karen said sheepishly.

"Karen." Jac exclaimed, her tone chiding. "Close range, center mass. How many times must we say it?"

"Jac." Aeron said with a snort. "We are alive. She will practice harder. Right, Karen?" Karen nodded quickly. "Good girl. All in all, a good run."

"Lots to learn." Karen said, hanging her head as the ship appeared in the distance. "Wait..." She said with a shake of her head. "_Is_ that our ship?"

It wasn't moving to pick them up. Indeed, it moved to... Aeron went still as four forms dropped from it. Four Tenno landed and drew their weapons. An Ember, an Ash, a Volt and a Saryn all pointed weapons at Aeron and Karen. Two and Jac were ignored. No, they were not, but the four Tenno were acting as if Aeron and Karen were threats, which was insane.

"Jasmina?" Two demanded. "What the hell?"

"Tenno Aeron, you are under arrest." The Ember said calmly. "Will you resist?" Aeron stared at her, then at the others, his rifle still down.

"What charge?" Aeron said calmly.

"Mental imbalance." The Ember replied evenly. "Come quietly and we will help you." Jac and Karen both twitched, but Aeron shook his head.

"We are not rogue, Jac, Karen." He said calmly. "Tenno do not kill Tenno. Weapons down. Now." His soft words were a command and Jac and Karen both lowered their rifles that had come up. "I assume the Elders ordered this." He said to Jasmina who hadn't moved, her Burston rifle still tracking his center mass.

"We are ordered to take you and Karen into custody pending a full psychological evaluation of both." Jasmina said with a sigh. "Come quietly."

"Over my _dead body_." Jac growled, her ire up. One of the newcomer Tenno turned slightly, his Sobek shotgun now covering Jac and Karen equally.

"No." Aeron snapped. "Tenno _do not_ kill Tenno." He declared. "Jac. Stand down. It will be all right. Can Two collect our weapons?" He asked Jasmina. "We really need to be gone soon. We stirred up the Grineer for Sensei to strike." He paused. "That is why you hit us now. He is distracted."

"Stand down." Jasmina said quietly. "This is your final warning."

"Look, we have." Aeron replied calmly. "But I am not dropping my weapon in the muck. Two can collect them."

"So be it." Jasmina said sadly.

Aeron had a moment to see silver balls in her hands, then they were in flight. Karen had no chance to dodge the one aimed at her. She gave a scream and went down in a heap. Aeron however, had been ready for something like that and the Ash that had been at the back of the group found himself standing where Aeron had been. He gave a shrill scream as the ball that had been aimed at Aeron hit him and he collapsed. Jasmina froze, Aeron's rifle was pointed at the back of her head from a range of less than a meter.

"That... was rude." Aeron's short clipped comments showed just how angry he was. But the white didn't come. Indeed, it hadn't since he and Jac had...um...gotten better acquainted. "Karen is my responsibility. Mine to punish. Mine to command. You had no right to hurt her."

"They are stunners." Jasmina said, not moving. "She is not hurt, just asleep."

"Jac." Aeron snapped. "Check." Jac darted to Karen's side and after a moment, nodded. "Tenno do not kill Tenno, but if you _had_ hurt her, I would hurt _you_. I am not berserk. I would be well within my rights to defend myself using non-lethal force from an unprovoked attack."

"I am ordered to bring you in." Jasmina said slowly. "Using any force necessary."

"Is that so?" A new voice interrupted. Aeron did not shift his aim as Sensei walked into the tableau. "Whose orders? Aeron is my clan's responsibility."

Will strode from the shadows to stand beside Sensei, his hands not on his weapons. But only a fool would call his body language relaxed. Alicia appeared as well, her Bronco in hand as she bent to check Karen. Two moved to stand beside Sensei and Ric appeared from the shadows as well, his hands full of purloined Grineer data. The whole point of Aeron's ambush of Vor had been to distract the Grineer base from the Tenno team stealing in to snitch some vital information. It had worked.

"Elder Grina ordered us to bring him and the girl in for examination." Jasmina said slowly. "Karl, please..."

"My brother's name is Aeron, Jasmina of the Tenno." Sensei said formally. "The sister you attacked unprovoked is named Karen." He shook his head. "I might have known. Grina... The one who wants to dissect Aeron." Aeron went stiff at that. Jac as well froze in place. Sensei shook his head. "Alicia? How is she?"

"Unconscious but stable." The Trinity flicked the ball off of Karen's still form and shook her head. "She will be out for a while."

"This problem is above our pay grades." Sensei said calmly. "Aeron." He commanded. "Stand down. Jasmina is not going to start a fight. Again." Aeron lowered his rifle. But then something hit him and oddly soothing music slammed him unconscious.

* * *

"...of all the stupid, idiotic...just plain dumb responses I might have heard of..." Aeron had to smile. Amelia had a large range of invective at her disposal and she was using quite a bit of it. "He is coming around. Aeron?" She asked, worried.

"What hit me?" Aeron asked, cracking his eyes. He relaxed to find himself in the medical ward of the dojo.

"Another one of those stunners." Alicia said as she came into his view. She still wore her warframe he noticed. Indeed, so did Aeron.

"Tell me that me going down didn't start a firefight." Aeron said with a sigh. "Please?"

"It didn't. Barely. Jac was...a bit upset but Sensei calmed her down." Alicia said in a tone of trying to be diplomatic. "Can't _really_ say I blame her. Even if he doesn't always reciprocate my feelings, if someone hit _Will_ with a sucker punch like that, I would be pretty upset too." She laid a hand on his arm. "Karen is fine."

"This is going to be a mess, isn't it?" Aeron asked sourly.

"No." Alicia said with a shake of her head. "It won't. We are not giving you or Karen up to some bigoted excuse for a hidebound fool. Grina couldn't find her rear end with both hands and a map in medical matters, so she can go hang. _We_..." Alicia waved at Amelia who nodded. "...are your physicians. We have authority. Over you anyway." She said darkly.

"Oh no..." Aeron said slowly. "Karen."

"She is still unconscious." Alicia said, concerned. "She isn't fully trained and had never had to deal with neural shocks before." Aeron went stiff, but Alicia reassured him. "She will be fine. There is no damage. Those stunners are a good idea actually. None lethal and work through warframes."

"Better hope the Corpus never figure them out." Aeron said darkly.

"They are a Corpus design that we stole." Alicia said with a matching nod. "Good news for us is that they are very short range and can be easily blocked if we see them coming. When we can't or don't... Well..." She nodded to Aeron.

"So..why am I still in a warframe?" Aeron asked slowly. "Why are you?"

"We have guests." Alicia said with a snarl. "Jasmina wouldn't take no for an answer and followed us back. She 'requested' hospitality and we obliged. But we don't have to be any more polite than she was." Aeron winced. Alicia was kind and gentle most of the time, but hurt her kin? Ouchtime. She paused. "Speak of the fracking she devil..."

"..and I am under orders, Two." Jasmina was pleading. "I don't want to do anything. but I have my orders."

"You are no sister of mine if you can attack a girl who has worn a warframe less than a week." Two said flatly as she followed Jasmina into the room. Both females still wore their warframes, but Jasmina's had no weapons attached to the hard points. Two had a Strun shotgun, a Lex pistol and a Skana sword on her warframe. "She had no chance against you."

"We didn't hurt her." Jasmina protested. "We were not going to hurt either of them."

"No." Two said with a snarl. "You just deliver them all nice and neat to the Elder with no questions asked. Then you leave with your hands still clean. You _know_ what she would have done, Jasmina. You know what she is still demanding. She is not going to dissect my brother _or_ my sister." She snapped.

"Two." Aeron said mildly. "Calm down. _We_ will not instigate hostilities this day."

"I... All right." Two said a bit sheepishly. " Hi, Aeron. How you feeling?"

"Alive." Aeron said with a nod. "What do you want?" His words to Jasmina were not a demand. Not...quite.

"My orders are to take you back to Elder Grina for psychological review." Jasmina began only to break off as _Amelia_ of all people snarled at her.

"That stupid woman wouldn't know a psychological review if it bit her on the butt." Amelia said with a snap. "She wants to dissect his brain! She said as much."

"Indeed she did." A new voice sounded and Aeron went still as another form entered the room. This one was a Tenno Elder in formal robes. His wrinkled face and dark eyes spoke of lots of laughter. But he was not laughing now. Indeed, his face was set.

"Elder Mavri..." Amelia stammered. "I..." He waved to her to stand easy.

"No one is taking anyone anywhere." The Elder said calmly. "Tenno Jasmina, your orders are countermanded. You were correct. They were not from the Elders as a whole. Thank you for your diligence in reporting the questionable nature." Jasmina jerked and then slumped.

"Did she have any idea that she nearly started a clan feud?" Jasmina asked, her tone dejected. "That she caused a rift between friends, between brothers and sisters that might have led to spilt blood?"

"No." The Tenno Elder said sadly. "What is worse? She doesn't care. All that matters to her is her position and the perks that come with it. We are working on finding a solution." He said with a grimace.

"That is way above our pay grades." Aeron said with a wince. "So...?" He inquired.

"I personally am here for three reasons, Tenno Aeron." Elder Mavri said with a sigh. "The first and foremost is to offer apology to you and your clan." Aeron inclined his head accepting the apology and Mavri relaxed a little. "Contrary to my less than distinguished colleague's view, I know you are not berserk." Jasmina looked at him and he chuckled. "Tenno Jasmina, even discounting the doctor's reports -which is just plain _stupid_ by the way- he _stood_ there while you threatened him, while you attacked and knocked unconscious a girl under his protection. He and Tenno Jac have formally requested to adopt Karen and the Elders as a whole have approved his request." He smiled as Aeron gasped. "It is odd, but no odder than some other things I have seen recently."

"But... He..." Jasmina was sputtering, trying to figure this out.

"Tenno Jasmina." Mavri said sternly. "In all ways except the formality, she was _already_ his daughter. If you had attacked _my_ daughter the way you attacked _his_..." He shook his head. "Well, let's just say I wouldn't have kept my temper nearly so well. He has a temper. So what?" The Elder demanded. "So do I."

"So do I." Jasmina said in a soft voice.

"You wear an Ember warframe. Why am I not surprised?" Elder Mavri asked with a laugh. "That is the second thing, Tenno Aeron. Your request was approved."

"Thank you, Elder." Aeron said with heartfelt gratitude. "And the third?" Aeron asked after a moment.

"Well..." Elder Mavri had a grin on his face now. "I got a call from a girl named Jac." Aeron froze and the Elder chuckled. "She said she wanted to be made an honest woman."

"She..wants...a formal..." Aeron swallowed heavily. "I...uh..."

"Give her what she wants, Aeron." Mavri said with a nod. "It will hurt less." Aeron sighed and nodded. Mavri spoke again. "Tenno Jasmina, Tenno Alicia, Tenno Two, I ask you all to stand witness. Is Karen conscious?"

"She is." Alicia said with a snarl."Karen! Eavesdropping on an Elder? You bad, bad girl."

"I was scared." Karen said sitting up in her warframe.

"You have no reason to fear now, young lady." Elder Mavri said gently. "I read the reports. Your ordeals might have driven a lesser being mad. But your family is here for you." He nodded to the others and Aeron nodded back. He smiled. "The transgression is forgiven. This time." He warned her. He took a deep breath and spoke softly. "Karl Sensei? We are ready."

The door opened again and Sensei entered, his hand on Jac's arm. Both still wore their warframes, but that was normal. For a Tenno wedding anyway. Aeron rose and moved to stand by the Elder, his faceplate unsealing.

"Dearly beloved,..." Elder Mavri began. 'We have come together at this time to witness a union between too disparate souls. Through pain and fear. Through war and death. Through grief and rage they have found each other. Let us now formalize the relationship with the vows that predate the Orokin era on Earth..."

Aeron did not move as the Elder spoke the ancient words that signified a marriage bond. He didn't dare breathe as the white in his head slowly retreated even further. It was still there. Still waiting, lurking. But now, he had something to combat the rage. It's antithesis. Love.


End file.
